Anthropological Studies Research Articles

FAHM AL-HADITH WITH THE ANTROPOLOGICAL APPROACH: The Study of Hadith La Yazalu Hadha al-Amr fi Quraish

<p>Understanding hadith correctly is an important aspect of the pattern of interaction with the hadith of the Prophet. The appropriate understanding process will also produce the correct understanding of hadith. Anthropology is a science that studies humans from their physical diversity and study human culture such as ways of behaving, cultures and the resulting values. Anthropological studies focus on studying humans and their horizons. This research uses a type of literature study which emphasizes aspects of literature related to the study being discussed. The results of this research show that the study of understanding hadith approaches using Anthropology is based on the strong relationship between religion and culture because it is impossible for hadith texts to be born in an empty space, so this study can be a solution to various contemporary problems that may be affecting the sound of the text in question. Finally, in applying an anthropological approach in understanding the hadith regarding the appointment of leaders who must be from the Quraysh tribe, concludes that there is a cultural internalization of the intellectuals of the Prophet Muhammad so if it is contextualized today, the Quraysh tribe in question is a symbol of the skills and capabilities of a leader.</p>

Cultural Metaphor in Oboo Worship: A Religious Anthropological Study Based on Mongolian Nationality

This paper explores the cultural and spiritual significance of Mongolian Oboo sacrifices from an anthropological perspective. Oboo, traditional cairns or shrines assembled from stones and wooden materials, often located on hilltops or mountain peaks, serve as media of spiritual communication and ceremonial offerings. The practices reinforce communal bonds and tradition continuance and carry several symbolic meanings related to both natural and spiritual realms. The study explores the form and content of Oboo sacrifices, demonstrating how they embody Mongolians' religious ideologies and symbolize the interconnection between humans and the natural world. Furthermore, the paper studies how the rituals form collective memory and a sense of group identity for Mongolians. Through this investigation, the research illuminates the enduring resilience and sophistication of Mongolian traditional customs, underscoring their cultural significance.

Research in social anthropology with indigenous peoples in Brazil and the study of social anthropology with autochthonous peoples in the context of Brazil and other National States: Australia, Canada, and Argentina

The text, “Research in social anthropology with indigenous peoples in Brazil and the study of social anthropology with autochthonous peoples in the context of Brazil and other National States: Australia, Canada, and Argentina”, aims, following the profile of this section of the Anuário Antropológico, to publicize the contributions to the Programme through a brief account of my own trajectory at the PPGAS/DAN/UnB. I begin with the period in which I was a student of the first PhD group, between 1981 and 1988 under the academic direction of Professor Julio Cezar Melatti, period in which I gained a background on the style of social anthropology with indigenous peoples that is undertaken in Brazil, and over thirty-five years, since 1989, as a professor of the DAN and as a CNPq researcher. In the latter period, I collaborated, initially, in two research projects coordinated by Professor Roberto Cardoso de Oliveira, on Styles of Anthropology in National Contexts, and later focusing on Nationality and Ethnicity on Borders. In both cases, I focused my attention on social anthropology with indigenous societies, in Brazil and in other national states – Australia since 1992, Canada since 1995, and more recently Argentina since 2016. On the research line about nationality and ethnicity on borders, I started in 2000, examining the Macushi and Wapishana peoples on the Brazil-Guyana border and, since 2008, my research has included work on the criminalisation of indigenous peoples in the prison system of Roraima. This article aims to highlight the most relevant aspects of my academic production in the discipline, in theoretical and methodological terms, according to my own assessment, and also to demonstrate how the existing academic environment at the PPGAS fosters the development and improvement of practices of the production of knowledge.

La Carrera de Campeche (1717-1818): demografia móvel, devoções vernáculas e estradas provincias

This article studies how the Carrera de Campeche, a series of fluvial and land traffic and mobility routes, connected the city port of Campeche and the gulf of Mexico with the Carrera de Guatemala, the commercial circuit that linked the audiencias/kingdoms of New Spain and Guatemala. For this, a review of the regional, economic historiography and anthropological studies was made; also archival documents and cartography collected in Mexico, Guatemala, the United States and Spain to support the hypothesis of the existence of the routes. As a result, it was possible to corroborate the existence of a dynamic demography and in continuous movement, fortified by regional devotions that strengthened the religious-cultural integration and that allowed to sustain the road projects of magistrates and elites in the Carrera de Campeche, at the end of the Spanish colonial period.

Association of HLA-C*07:359 with HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1 alleles in Taiwanese.

It is thought that Taiwanese indigenous people were the "first people" to populate Taiwan (Formosa) having been there for over 5000 years, preceding the Dutch colonization (from 1624 to 1662) and Spanish colonization (from 1626 to 1642). Taiwan's indigenes, represented by Austronesian language speakers, currently constitute approximately 2% of the total population in Taiwan. It is unknown whether they evolved from Taiwan's Paleolithic or Neolithic cultures, arrived during or after the Neolithic period from China or Southeast Asia or both. HLA studies on the Taiwanese indigenous population have found several intriguing genetic information showing one or two relatively frequently observed alleles and a small number of relatively less frequently observed ones. We report here a relatively frequently observed HLA-C*07:359 allele in the Taiwanese indigenous population, its linkage with HLA-B*39:01, and its probable associated HLA haplotype in two Taiwanese indigenous families. HLA-C*07:359 is a rarely observed allele in the HLA-C locus in the world populations. The objective of this study is to report the allele HLA-C*07:359 that is more frequently found in the Taiwanese population, especially in the Taiwanese indigenous people, to demonstrate that it has a close linkage with HLA-B*39:01 allele in the HLA-B locus and to show the plausible deduced HLA-A-C-B-DRB1-DQB1 haplotypes in association with HLA-C*07:359 in two families of Taiwanese indigenous unrelated individuals. The samples were peripheral whole blood, with dipotassium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and/or acid citrate dextrose anticoagulation additives. The sequence-based typing method was employed to confirm the low incidence of the allele of HLA-C*07:359 observed in Taiwanese. Polymerase chain reaction was carried out to amplify exons 2, 3, and 4 of the HLA-A,-B,-C,-DRB1 and-DQB1 loci with group-specific primer sets. Amplicons were sequenced using the BigDye Terminator Cycle Sequencing Ready Reaction Kit in both directions according to the manufacturer's protocol. C*07:359 is an uncommon allele in the HLA-C locus in the world general population, according to our literature review. However, in this study, it is observed in the general Taiwanese population (frequency 0.41%), especially in the Taiwanese indigenous people at a frequency of 0.23%. In addition, we deduced two probable HLA haplotypes in association with C*07:359 in two indigenous families: A*24:02-C*07:359-B*39:01-DRB1*04:36 and A*24:02-C*07:359-B*39:01-DRB1*04:04. The two deduced HLA haplotypes associated with the uncommon C*07:359 allele that we report here are valuable for HLA tissue typing laboratories for reference purposes and for stem cell transplantation donor search coordinators to determine the likelihood of finding compatible donors in unrelated bone marrow donor registries for patients bearing the uncommon HLA allele. Since C*07:359 was found mostly in the Taiwanese indigenous population, we think the allele and its haplotypes we report here are important in population and anthropological studies.

An Anthropological Study on the Use of Natural Flavoring Agents in Sri Lankan Traditional Food Culture

There is no universal definition for the term ‘flavorings’. Yet, spices, herbs, condiments, and seasonings altogether are known as natural flavoring agents, including coloring sources, tart flavorings, preservative spices, aromatic flavorings, and appetizers. In this study, main objective was to identify culinary spices, herbs, condiments, and seasonings that are being used, and their form of usage. This study covered purposively selected 100 Divisions out of 256 Divisions to represent selected Divisional Secretariats. Each 25-household was selected from Divisional Secretariats via snowball sampling method representing 100 D.S. Divisions. The required data were collected from 2500 households through semi-structured interviews. Identified Sri Lankan natural food flavoring agents are divided into three main categories based on their sources: plant-based, animal-based, and mineral-based. 61 natural flavoring agents were identified in this study and this constitutes the highest number of natural flavoring agents used in Sri Lanka. Majority of the identified flavoring agents belonged to the plant-based 55(N) (90%) category. Mineral-based 3(N) (5%) and animal-based 3(N) (5%) natural flavoring agents were identified during this study. In addition, spices 23(N) (38%), herbs 17(N) (28%), seasonings 12(N) (19%), and condiments 9(N) (15%) were also identified in this study. Considerably, flavoring mixtures (thunapaha) play a notable role in Sri Lankan traditional cuisine. Similarly, ‘Thuna’ is one mixture made out of three ingredients (cumin, fennel and coriander) and‘Paha’ is another mixture made out of five lumps (pepper, garcinia, mustard, turmeric and chili). Today, people have limited the use of flavoring agents because of the lack of traditional knowledge and the disappearance of the traditional practices related to cooking from modernized societies.

Domínios do Cinema Indígena: a problemática do sujeito revisitada

ABSTRACT This study analyzes the place of indigenous peoples in documentary film, outlining the limits and possibilities that define their condition as subject or object of the documentary film. Based on cinema and anthropological studies, it identifies the extent to which the problem of the constitution of the subject in indigenous cinema allows us to consider a similar research question in the field of humanities. Between the historical and cosmological worlds, the audiovisual field and ante-field, permanent colonialism and counter-coloniality, the domains of power in the indigenous documentary perspective are invariably marked by tensions, fissures and limits. Who, after all, is the Other as subject and/or object of the camera?

Climate change and food security: An anthropological study in Mandandeupur village of Kavrepalanchok

Climate change and food security: An anthropological study in Mandandeupur village of Kavrepalanchok

Dyadic inter-group cooperation in shotgun hunting activities in a Congo Basin village.

Understanding the dynamics of inter-group cooperation in human adaptation has been the subject of recent empirical and theoretical studies in evolutionary anthropology, beginning to fill gaps in our knowledge of how interactions across political, economic and social domains can - and often do - lead to stable, large-scale cooperation. Here we investigate dyadic intergroup cooperation in shotgun hunting in the Republic of the Congo. In the Congo Basin, inter-group cooperation between foragers and farmers is at the centre of an exchange system maintained by traditional norms and institutions such as fictive kinship. Here, we focused on what factors predict cooperative shotgun hunting exchanges between BaYaka and Yambe. We conducted structured interviews with 48 BaYaka hunters and 18 Yambe men who organise hunts in a village along the Motaba River. We used Bayesian multilevel regression models to investigate the influence of Yambe and BaYaka attributes on probability of dyadic cooperation. We found that BaYaka men's reputations as skilled hunters and their family size each predicted cooperation in shotgun hunting, whereas there was no effect of Yambe attributes (status, wealth, family size). We discuss the results in terms of evolutionary models of men as hunters and inter-group cooperation, as well as biodiversity conservation implications.

Philosophical Anthropology of B. V. Markov. Part 1. Philosophy of the Era of “the Death of Man”

The article is devoted to the study of the Philosophical Anthropology of the recently deceased famous St. Petersburg philosopher Boris Vasilyevich Markov (1946-2023). Thanks to him, Russian Philosophical Anthropology started to develop actively in the 1990s. It is the peculiarities and significance of the philosophy of that period, are analyzed in the article. The writings of French philosophers, primarily the concept of the “death of man” by M. Foucault, were of central importance for the new Russian philosophy and Philosophical Anthropology of that time. The works of the archaeological and genealogical stages by Foucault had a great influence on Markov. The author of the current article examines in detail the significance of Foucault’s concept of the “death of man” and, in general, the understanding of man in Postmodernism for the development of Philosophical Anthropology of B. V.Markov in his works of the 1990s. To do this, the genesis and features of the development of European, primarily French, philosophy of the second half of the 20th century, presented in such concepts as episteme, deconstruction, archeology of knowledge, genealogy of power, language, are critically touched upon and analyzed. Based on these principles, Markov’s philosophical anthropology can be characterized as an archeology and genealogy of power in relation to man in culture, society and everyday life. The author emphasizes that the development of Philosophical Anthropology in the era of the “death of man” was a complex and controversial process, since such critical analytics led to the depersonalization of human being. The research presented in the article seeks to critically reveal the foundations of such an essentially anti-anthropological philosophy. Analysis of philosophy of B. V. Markov allows us to reveal its great significance for the development of domestic Philosophical Anthropology in the era of the “death of man”.

Vernacular garden as urban landscape element (сomparative analysis of Kyiv and Prešov cases)

Background. The aim of the paper is to compare the vernacular gardening within urban landscapes in Ukraine and Slovakia through its ability to enhance resident engagement and reduce levels of indifference and alienation. Methods. I apply Lehtinen's idea of urban aesthetics as a compromise, highlighting the significance of engaging with city imperfections to achieve urban harmony, as well as Jackson and von Bonsdorff offer contrasting perspectives on the landscape concept and urban environment, respectively. Cureton introduces the concept of "vernacular landscape," while Macauley emphasizes the embodied experience of walking in the city. Fenner's insights on gardens enrich the discussion by highlighting their historical resonance and aesthetic allure. Additionally, the text explores the interdisciplinary approach to analyzing vernacular gardens, drawing on concepts from Foucault and Heidegger to provide a comprehensive understanding of their socio-cultural and aesthetic significance within urban landscapes. Results. Vernacular gardens in Kyiv's Rusanivka microdistrict play significant role in intertwining private and public spaces through the lens of care. Amidst the backdrop of war in Ukraine, these gardens symbolize resilience and resistance. Contrasting vernacular gardening practices in Kyiv and Prešov , it highlights their distinct characteristics reflective of their urban landscapes, with Kyiv gardens representing individual initiatives against Soviet traditions and Prešov gardens seamlessly integrating into the urban fabric with a focus on post-Socialist architecture and individual creativity. Conclusions. The study of vernacular elements of the urban landscape, in particular – the vernacular garden and the practice of vernacular gardening, implemented through a combination of different approaches and disciplines: urban, negative and phenomenological aesthetics, cultural anthropology and cultural studies around the landscape, vernacular landscape and cityscape, as well as practical interview methods and walking the combination of different approaches made it possible to define a vernacular garden precisely as a place created by a creative subject within the urban landscape. It acquires the status of a heterotopia and a place that allows you to get involved in the urban environment, identify with it and feel its atmosphere.

A Study on the Ethnic Games of the Dimasas in Assam

Games and sports are an essential part of human life. It can be considered as an intangible cultural heritage of a community. The field of sport and culture refers to the values, ceremonies and way of life characteristics of a given group and the place of sport within that way of life. Like the concept of society, the notion of culture is widely used in the sociological, anthropological and historical study of sport. It encourages the researcher and student to consider the meanings, symbols, rituals and power relations at play within any particular cultural setting. Traditional sports and games as a specific part of the global sport system may engender the notion of old, exotic and endangered cultural manifestations, but to some extent that is only the outsider´s view on an extremely widespread and interesting sub-group of sports, which can be analyzed from different perspectives relating to sociological, anthropological or cultural sciences. Different tribal groups of India also have some of their own traditional games and sports, which reflect their cultural identity and means of recreation and entertainment in leisure time. In Assam the cultural heritage of the Dimasa Tribe has its own resemblance. They are primarily dwelling in the Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao district of Assam. They are autochthones of the region and they have multiple traditional cultures of their own and some unique ethnic games and sports as well. In this paper an attempt has been made to focus on the various ethnic games of the Dimasas. The studied people of these villages are very much aware of their folk cultural traditions, particularly of their ethnic games and sports. This paper is an attempt to discuss about their different ethnic games; as well as the significance of such ethnic games among the concerned people, with a special reference to their emerging problems and prospects.

In search of tradition: A comparative analysis of wine production in Calabria (Italy) and British Columbia (Canada)

The relationship between tradition and the taste of terroir products is often set aside in the literature. In different contexts, tradition can serve different purposes, often identity-related, and be analysed as such. In the case of wine and terroir products, tradition also serves commercial purposes and therefore raises issues link to competition and inequality between producing regions. Based on two anthropological field studies on the wine industry, one in Cirò Marina, Calabria, Italy, and the other in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada, this paper proposes a materialist definition of tradition. Tradition can be defined as the opportunities and constraints of the past that explain the organisation of a given production in a particular place. This definition makes it possible to compare discourses on tradition with the historical reality that underlies them, in order to understand the elements that are favoured and those that are abandoned.

La feminización de la sobrecarga: cuidados no- remunerados, relaciones familiares y envejecimiento en Peñalolén (Chile)

This article presents an anthropological study with a feminist focus on the unpaid care work done by older people in the district of Peñalolén (Metropolitan Region, Chile). Thirty-two qualitative interviews were conducted with men and women aged sixty and over with the aim of finding out what chores they do when looking after, in particular, their familiy members. The findings show that older women have an overload when it comes to care work and that their activities sustain different aspects of their relatives’ lives. These women appear to be caught “in the middle,” trapped between different generations and distinct ways of doing paid and unpaid work. At the same time, older men tend only to take on care work when their partner is not in a position to do so; rather, they undertake more specific ways of providing (such as offering material and economic resources to their children and grandchildren).

Street ‘Doctors’ and Sexual Health: A Medical Anthropological Study of Male Infertility in Telangana, South India

Popular media, street medicine sellers, and pharmacists are major sources of knowledge on sexual health and procreation in India, causing misconception and anxiety. Drawing from a larger ethnographic study on male infertility in southern India, the paper focuses on the ways in which men acquire knowledge about their health and navigate their health seeking behavior when faced with a diagnosis of infertility. Often men gather knowledge about sexual health from sources that are not necessarily well regulated. This information is usually incomplete, incorrect or exaggerated, creating confusion. We concentrate on ‘street medicine sellers’ who form a major segment of information for men about sexual health, in the process explicating local etiologies of sexual health and reproduction. This study contributes to the small but emerging literature on masculinities, calling for more research on male understandings of infertility and sexual health.

How Politics and International Relations Work in the RMG Segment in Bangladesh on the Intermediaries Act in the Era of Globalization. And Uncertainty of Local and Universal Commerce as a Cause of Worldwide Legislative Issues as Well as Business Ethics. A Business Anthropological Study (Census of Innovation 1983-2023)

How Politics and International Relations Work in the RMG Segment in Bangladesh on the Intermediaries Act in the Era of Globalization. And Uncertainty of Local and Universal Commerce as a Cause of Worldwide Legislative Issues as Well as Business Ethics. A Business Anthropological Study (Census of Innovation 1983-2023)

Challenging the North-South Divide in Decolonizing Design

This article critiques the prevailing North-South divide within the discourse on decolonizing design, recognizing its historical significance while exposing its limitations in advancing decolonial agendas. The uncritical adoption of this dichotomy often leads to oversimplification, exclusion, and isolation, limiting the practical impact of decolonizing efforts. Drawing on insights from a global design anthropological study on energy exchange, we advocate for a post-development perspective that transcends the North-South divide. Our study presents three key insights: colonization is rooted in ideology and requires global reform for decolonization; mutual learning between the Global North and South is essential; and infrastructure plays a crucial role in envisioning and implementing decolonial alternatives. This work aims to stimulate further discourse toward a dialogic, contextual, infrastructural, and comparative post-development paradigm in decolonizing design.

Humans are dynamic. Our tools should be too. Innovations from the Anthropological Study of Security Operations Centers

Security Operation Centers (SOCs) are being operated by universities, government agencies, and corporations to defend their enterprise networks in general and in particular to identify and thwart malicious behaviors in both networks and hosts. The success of a SOC depends on a combination of good tools, processes and, most importantly, efficient and effective analysts. During the 4 years that we have used anthropological fieldwork methods to study SOCs, we have discovered that successful SOC innovations must resolve a number of internal and external conflicts to be effective and efficient. This discovery, guided by Activity Theory (AT) which provides a framework for analyzing our fieldwork data, enabled us to understand these realities. Our research indicates conflictresolution is a prerequisite for continuous improvement of SOCs in both human and technological aspects. Failure to do so can leadto adverse effects such as analyst burnout and reduction in overall effectiveness.

Discourse on the Durkheimian Tradition in Political Sociology

This paper examines the understanding of Durkheimian tradition in political sociology. It explores different elements of Durkheimian analysis ranging from social solidarity, anomie, religious experience, and structure functionalism. Durkheim's theories have a significant influence on social scientific research, particularly in sociology, anthropology, and cultural studies. He has emphasized structural functionalism, morality, social cohesion, and religious influence on social institutions. He has given scholars a useful foundation for comprehending today's social problems and cultural practices. In this paper, we also explore criticism faced by Durkheim’s concepts by other researchers

Issues and Agendas of Infertility Studies in Bangladesh

Abstract: In Bangladesh, people and its culture immensely focus on the importance of fertility and reproduction. Motherhood thus became a purified identity in both cultural and mystical ways. As a result, any factor hindering fertility is considered deviant and ignored in all aspects. Hence, our studies mainly triggered the notion, significances and hinders to maternal and child health, birth practices, fertility and reproduction etc. Therefore, the socio-economic and psychological strains of infertile people remain insignificant in our studies. In addition, infertility has been considered a neglected and stigmatized issue due to our overpopulation and socio-cultural perceptions of it. Though the number of infertile people is increasing in Bangladesh still there is a dearth of research on the social aspects and consequences of infertility in the country. Infertility has been considered as a stigmatized, gendered, psycho-social turmoil and sensitive agenda to explore, where the stakeholders consciously ignore the biological and psycho-social solutions to it and exploit the infertile. This piece of paper focuses on the nature of studies conducted on infertility issues in Bangladesh, which emphasize the significance of infertility studies in anthropology and other branches of social sciences. This study also categorizes the issues, perspectives and agenda of infertility studies here in Bangladesh. In doing so, the paper also outlines the future scopes and corridors for infertility studies in Bangladesh.