Ethnographic Research Methods Research Articles

Farmer-Agropastoralist Conflict Escalation in Morogoro Region, Tanzania: A Structural and Process Analysis

In Africa, access to natural resources such as land, water, forest, and wildlife reserve areas is a key factor for socio-economic development. The scarcity and degradation of these resources in rural environments threaten human security, leading to conflicts. Conflicts between agropastoralists and farmers are increasing in Tanzania. This research deployed the Social Conflict Theory that embeds structural and process elements to address the question of why and how the conflict between farmers and agropastoralists has escalated into deadly violence in the Morogoro region, Tanzania. Qualitative and ethnographic research methods were used. Results demonstrate that the way farmers lose their land by illegal means (e.g., bribes, force and coercion, and deception and stealth) is a critical factor that contributes more to land resource conflicts. We argue that land resource-related conflicts in Tanzania cannot be explained solely by a single driver (e.g., limited land resources), but by a combination of drivers including the illegal mechanisms used to control access to land resources. Conflicts between farmers and agropastoralists in the Morogoro region escalated to violence following the general patterns and transformation dynamics (i.e., process variables) described in Social Conflict Theory. These process variables involve tactics shifting from light to heavy, goals shifting from specific to general, and involvement shifting from few to many. The analysis of conflicts by focusing on process variables (conflict dynamics) enabled the identification of new factors (culture and age of participant in the conflict) that helped explain why some conflicts between farmers and agropastoralists escalate to deadly violence. The study recommends the formation of a loose coalition (e.g., Elders’ Tribunal) which includes equal representation of members from the farmer and agropastoralist communities which may help solve the current conundrum caused by top-down administrative procedures and practices, which often leads to outcomes that are ineffective and unsatisfactory to all parties

God of iron and iron working in parts of Ǹsúkkā cultural area in Southeast Nigeria

This study is aimed at evaluating the influence of the god of iron on ironworking communities in Ǹsúkkā cultural area. In the study area, the Supreme God – Chúkwú Òkìkè, Chínēkè or Chúkwú Ábíàmà is believed to control the affairs of humanity. He is worshipped through intermediaries such as Ányánwù [Sun God], Àmádíòhà, Áhàjīōkù [fertility goddess], Àlà [earth goddess] and the god of iron, which is called by different names in the study area such as Ékwéñsū-Úzù, Òkóró-Údùmè, Chíkèrè Àgùrù and Áshéné. But, how effective is the god of iron in the study area? To provide answers to this question, ethnographic research method, involving in-depth structured interviews, field observation and photographic documentations, was used to gather data on the subject matter while data collected were analysed descriptively. This article is of the view that the influence of the god of iron in the study area is whittling down as a result of Westernisation and Christianity.Contribution: The study indicates an increasing resistance to the Euro-centrism, which has suppressed beliefs in the god of iron and the associated practices.

On the issue of the methodology of the study of petroglyphs of medieval architectural structures of the North Caucasus

The article is devoted to the problems of the methodology of the study of petroglyphs of architectural structures of the North Caucasus. The author considers methodological approaches to the interpretation of their semantics, taking into account the dual nature of petroglyphs of architectural structures, which, on the one hand, are a special cultural phenomenon with their pictorial traditions and a set of symbols, and, on the other, genetically go back to rock art, respectively, possessing the properties of rock paintings. The author believes that, interpreting the semantics of petroglyphs and their compositions, it is very important to take into account the historical context in which they were created and consider their significance in line with religious traditions relevant to the population of that era. According to the author, epic formulas or ideograms that originate in rock art play a special role in deciphering the meaning of petroglyphs of architectural structures, and in petroglyphs of architectural structures they acquire a specific character due to a narrow set of sacred symbols. The methodological basis of the research is a set of general historical, ethnographic and archaeological research methods, the use of which is determined by the nature of the material being studied. The author believes that, despite the difficulties of interpreting petroglyphs of architectural structures associated with the reconstruction of religious and mythological representations of the ancient population, it is a certain set of sacred symbols and their compositions, as well as epic formulas, that are the key to their deciphering. Petroglyphs of architectural structures have their origin in ancient rock art, which makes it possible to use in their research, including methodological techniques for studying rock paintings, the historiography of which has almost 150 years and a huge number of scientific monographs and articles. At the same time, the petroglyphs of medieval buildings in the North Caucasus possessed expressive self-sufficiency, which allowed the peoples of the region to use it to fix their religious, mythological and social traditions for transmission to the next generations.

Woman Creativepreneurship Based on Minangkabau Culture

Indonesia comprises various ethnic cultures, which has its own uniqueness. One element of culture is a livelihood system. The Minangkabau ethnic community has a uniqueness that is represented by the tradition of migrating and the livelihood system of trading. Migrants were initially only carried out by men but later were also joined by women. Many Minangkabau women migrants are successful in their overseas and trading businesses. This prompted this research to be carried out with the title Minangkabau Woman Creativepreneurship. This paper applies qualitative approach, with ethnographic research methods and an anthropolinguistic paradigm. The informants in this research were 10 Minangkabau women who were creative in running their businesses. The location of this research is Dharmasraya Regency, West Sumatra Province. This research found 7 (seven) Minangkabau Woman Creativepreneurship values, namely: (1) religiosity, (2) hard work, (3) discipline, (4) honesty, (5) never giving up, (6) thriftiness, and (7) creativity. These values were internalized from the teachings of the Minangkabau adat. It is deemed that cultural values are represented in and internalized from language in the form of adages, forming attitudes, character, ethos and ethics and behavior, leading to their success. These findings are relevant to the current state of unemployment rates and in motivating local cultural education in the education system.

Reflection of sacred symbols in folklore and dance culture of Chechens

The article is devoted to the study of sacred symbols represented in the petroglyphs of Chechnya and widely used in the material culture of the local population of the ancient and late medieval era: in the decoration of metal products, the ornament of carpets and ceramics. The author believes that sacred symbolism is reflected in spiritual culture. The circle, the cross, the spiral and other sacred symbols have been embodied in a variety of forms in oral folk art, dance culture, ritual traditions, the Nart epic, thereby defining the stylistic features of the culture of the North Caucasus. Sacred meanings are imprinted not only in the images of dancing anthropomorphic figures on the walls of residential and combat towers, but also the pattern of their movements and gestures repeats the outlines of ancient symbols, thereby testifying to the ritual nature of the origin of folk dance and many genres of oral folk art. The methodological basis of the research is a set of general historical, ethnographic and archaeological research methods, the use of which is determined by the nature of the material being studied. Thus, the internal space and structure of the phenomena of spiritual culture correspond to the forms of the main sacred symbols that existed in the culture of the peoples of the region in ancient times, thereby creating a special style of North Caucasian culture, which is characterized by inner sacredness. The reflection of mythological plots and symbols in petroglyphs and bronze plastics of the Koban culture of late Bronze and early iron testifies to the deep antiquity of folk dance and many genres of oral folk art of the population of the North Caucasus and speaks about the close intertwining of the phenomena of material and spiritual culture in that period, about the sacredness of being in its representations. Ritualism penetrates into all spheres of life (labor, funeral rite, wedding ceremony), protecting the ancient man from all bad things.

A Study on the Economic Strategies Employed by the Nomadic Moor Community Residing along the Chenab River Bank from an Anthropological Perspective

This anthropological study delves into the economic strategies and mechanisms of the nomadic Moor community living alongside the Chenab River. Witnessing the unique economic practices that nomadic communities, such as the Moors, develop due to their cultural and environmental influences is truly captivating. This study aims to explore the Moor community's intricate economic activities in the Chenab River bank area. Ethnographic research methods will be utilized to uncover these complexities, including participant observation, interviews, and historical and contemporary data analysis. This study seeks to understand how the Moor community navigates economic obstacles while maintaining their nomadic way of life. It achieves this by examining their resource utilization patterns, trade networks, and strategies for making a living. Furthermore, this study explores the wider anthropological context of the Chenab River bank region, examining the complex connection between the economic practices of the Moor community and the social, cultural, and environmental dynamics of the area.

Subculture of female Korean culture fans: pleasure, creativity, and sisterhood

The entry of the Korean wave in the early 2000s in Indonesia, which was facilitated by internet technology, has become part of communication activities. This has led to the formation of subcultures of fans of Korean wave products, namely K-Drama and K-Pop, including women's subcultures who like K-drama and K-Pop. This subculture was built and developed through social media such as Facebook and WhatsApp. This article reviews how the digital era has changed how female fans interact to empower themselves through subcultures in the online space, mainly focusing on female fans of K-pop bands and K-dramas. Using the ethnographic research method, the research results show that along with the digital era that continues to develop, the subculture of female fans, initially formed through a physical collective group, has now evolved into a subculture of female fans formed through internet-based interactions. The subculture of female fans in the online space has become a forum for exploring pleasure, creativity, and self-empowerment through text production and reproduction of media texts supported by digital technology. Exploration of fun, creativity, and self-empowerment merged in a sense of sisterhood, participatory and collaborative culture.

Language Brokering Over Time: A Study of Citizenship Becoming Through a Transliteracies Framework

ABSTRACT This paper integrates theories and research from the fields of transliteracies and language brokering to understand the language and literacy experiences of bilingual youth who grew up in Mexican immigrant families. Analyzing data from three interrelated studies that used ethnographic research methods to understand the language brokering of Mexican-American immigrant youth in Chicago from 2000–2010, we asked: How do language brokers negotiate diverse meanings of citizenship in their transnational contexts? How do their transliteracy experiences shape their “citizenship becoming” over time? Findings show how bilingual Mexican-American youth employed their transliteracies and translocal expertise for civic justice, as they increasingly helped family and other transnational community members gain equitable access to goods and just services through their language brokering practices. At the same time, in a period of increasing anti-immigrant discourses and policies, they also experienced personal challenges and developed a deep recognition of hard borders facing their racialized communities. The discussion considers implications of this work for disrupting traditional perspectives about citizenship and employing a stronger notion of politicized funds of knowledge in K-12 classrooms.

Understanding the impact of COVID-19 Outbreak on Primary School-aged Children in Sindh: A Contextual Analysis of Post-Pandemic Education

COVID-19 has changed the way we lived, worked and learnt. It has adversely impacted everyone, especially the most vulnerable groups: people with disabilities, senior citizens and children. The negative effects on children's health, socio-psychological development, and intellectual advancement are regarded to be unprecedented in recent human history. This paper examines the educational system of Hyderabad, a city in Sindh, Pakistan during COVID-19 and it investigates the negative effects on children and their school learning. This study is interdisciplinary, focusing on Applied Anthropology and Education policy and pedagogy. Mixed methods both qualitative as well as quantitative are used to collect and analyse the data. For qualitative data collection, ethnographic research methods such as participant observation, semi-structured interviews and case study are used. Surveys through digital sources such as email, WhatsApp, Facebook and SMS are implied to collect quantitative data. Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted in a Government Primary School (GPS), Hyderabad, Pakistan. The findings of the study reveal that post COVID-19 has impacted the school learning and experience of educational attainment in multiple ways to the primary school aged going children. Moreover, it has also revealed the uneven socio-economic opportunities for learning, and discloses the government's inability to reach out to the most vulnerable class of the society in the time of emergency.

Return-Migrant Urbanisation in Inland China: The Case of Hubei Province

Since China entered the 21st century, a phenomenon of return migrants moving back from urban to rural areas has been noted, especially in central regions such as Hubei Province. Despite its significance, this phenomenon remains inadequately understood. Employing ethnographic research methods, we conducted multiple rounds of fieldwork in Guangzhou, Wuhan, and three of Wuhan’s neighbouring county-level cities—Hanchuan, Xiantao, and Tianmen—where rising garment industrial enclaves and return migration have been observed. Our findings reveal that the pro-growth policies of megacities like Wuhan and Guangzhou, aimed at industrial transformation while eliminating ‘low-end’ manufacturing, have forced migrants to leave large cities. Among these individuals, return-migrant entrepreneurs (RMEs), comprising entrepreneurs and family workshop owners, have had a profound impact on advancing county urbanisation in Hubei Province. Specifically, we identified three features for return-migrant urbanisation. First, entrepreneurs took their return as an opportunity to expand and promote their businesses, thereby fostering industrialisation in Hanchuan. Second, local state activities in Xiantao, encompassing the construction of highways, logistics systems, and other facilities, coupled with institutionalised arrangements, triggered return migration and township urbanisation. Third, households and individuals with entrepreneurship dominated the development of the informal workshop industry in Tianmen. Overall, our study contributes to the nuanced understanding of new types of urbanisation in China.

Do Butonese Women Need to Break the Cultural Taboos? (A Dilemma Among Butonese Women)

This research aims to analyze one of Indonesian ethnicity’s perspectives towards women empowerment and cultural taboos. In this context, the investigation focused on Butonese ethnic. Thus, this research employs ethnography research method. In attempt to gain the data, triangulations data collection techniques are employed including observation, FGD, and interview. The results reflected perceptions of Butonese Women from two different walk of life. In this case, the participants include housewives and career women. Butonese women proposed two different perspectives towards women empowerment. The first perspective is women empowerment considered as a radical resistance. Moreover, the second perspective claimed that women empowerment is an act of breaking the cultural taboos.

Story of Conservation: Integrating Ethnobotanical Knowledge, Healer, and Sacred Area in Daulu–Karonese, North Sumatera

This article aims to explain the conservation mechanisms of a community to protect village forests; and how actors can create communities that maintain the value of forests as spaces for life's needs. This article focuses on ethnobotanical knowledge (especially medicines), transmission, healing practices, and forest protection mechanisms. The relationship between these four things is a story of sustainable conservation, both in-situ and ex-situ. This mechanism turns out to be related to mythology, sacredness, and sacred areas. This phenomenon was found in Karonese, Daulu Village, North Sumatra, Indonesia. The cognitive anthropology approach with the concept of culture in mind becomes an important tool for analyzing how knowledge is constructed and transmitted. Ethnographic research methods with an emic approach, participant observation, in-depth interviews with key informants, and completeness of filed notes are one way to capture the native point of view. Data analysis was carried out qualitatively through ongoing analysis. The conclusion of the study found that the capacity of actors, especially healers, and the transmission of ethnobotanical knowledge, especially medicines, and the survival of mythological stories and values about sacred areas have consequences for the sustainability of conservation of what they call the kerangen kuta or village forest.

Safety at work in the process industry as a group Accomplishment: Shadowing safety-as-done

In this paper, work safety in the process industry is approached as a collaborative group accomplishment. It presents the methodological approach and findings of the ‘Teaming Up for Safety!’ research project, in which an ethnographic observation method called ‘shadowing’ was used to research group phenomena in relation to work safety. The potential of shadowing in examining safety-related team phenomena, especially situational awareness (SA), is discussed. Ethnographic research methods’ potential to deepen understanding of safety-related group phenomena and to help safety research focus on work- and safety-as-done is examined. The results detail the aspects onto which process industry teams focus SA and the means of establishing it and point out the relevance of SA in process industry work. The results show how establishing and maintaining SA is central in accomplishing the goals of operative production and maintenance tasks safely.

Integrating Multimodal and Generative AI in Design Research: Enhancing Ethnographic Methods with Data-Driven Analysis

This research examines the application of Multimodal and Generative AI in analyzing interior design trends within the South Korean market. The objective is to enhance traditional ethnographic research methods with AI's quantitative capabilities, offering a more comprehensive understanding of design preferences. This methodology uses AI tools to systematically analyze and categorize design elements from a large dataset of interior design images sourced from a relevant online platform. This process involves extracting key visual trends and patterns using AI-driven semantic analysis and clustering techniques. The study identifies and classifies four dominant design trends, providing a structured overview of current market preferences. By integrating AI into design trend analysis, the study demonstrates a novel approach to understanding consumer preferences, potentially influencing future design decisions. This use of AI in design research broadens the scope of traditional ethnographic studies in design and provides practical insights for designers and industry practitioners, suggesting a shift towards more data-driven design practice.

Ecotaurism through the Cultural Heritage of the Mekongga Kingdom in the Wundulako District

The advent of globalization has resulted in changes in people's lifestyles that are more modern, resulting in people being more inclined to choose new cultures that are considered more practical than local cultures. One of the factors causing local culture to be forgotten nowadays is the lack of future generations who have an interest in learning and inheriting their culture. Therefore, the aim of writing this article is to explain the community's efforts to strengthen social status through the cultural heritage of the Mekongga kingdom. The data collection technique used in this research is Snowball Sampling through observation participation and in-depth interviews. This type of qualitative research uses ethnographic research methods. The results of this research show that the people in Wundulako District, known as the Mekongga people, strengthen their social status through the cultural heritage of the Mekongga Kingdom, namely by carrying out death ceremonies, Wonua mosehe cultural rituals, mesosambakai cultural rituals, mosehe cultural rituals within the royal family, and through Mekongga cultural games, namely Mepae-pae Festival with traditional game competitions such as Metinggo (engrang), Mehule (Gasing), Mebaguli (candlenut kernel marbles), and Mesuke (picking and hitting the stem).

Etnomatematika Cagar Budaya Rumah Kampung Kapitan Dan Pengintegrasiannya Dalam Pembelajaran Matematika SMP

Abstract: The aims of this research are: 1) To describe the results of ethnomathematics exploration in the form of philosophical meaning contained in design; 2) Produce ethnomathematics-based LKPD on the cultural heritage of Kapitan Village houses in Palembang that is valid and practical; 3) Measuring the potential effect of ethnomathematics-based LKPD on junior high school mathematics learning outcomes. This research uses ethnographic research methods to describe the results of ethnomathematics exploration in the form of philosophical meaning contained in the design of the houses of Kampung Kapitan Palembang. Furthermore, the results of the ethnomathematics exploration of the Kapitan Village House Cultural Heritage will be made into teaching materials in the form of ethnomathematics-based LKPD. At this stage the type of research used is design research with the type of development studies. This research produces a philosophical meaning that is contained in the Kapitan Village House Cultural Heritage, especially in rectangular shapes (rectangles, rhombuses and trapezoids. After being integrated into ethnomathematics-based LKPD, it shows that 84% of students who have completed mathematics learning are in the effective category. Keywords: Ethnomathematics, Cultural Heritage, Kapitan Village, LKPD

Multani Shikarpuri Migration to Malabar: A Praxis on Homemaking

Since time immemorial, Malabar, the fabled port region on the western seaboard of India, has witnessed several waves of migration owing to its expansive trade networks across the Arabian Sea. This paper traces the continuous migration of the Multani Shikarpuri from Multan to Kozhikode (formerly Calicut and part of Malabar). The study, in its entirety, attempts to document the lived narratives and experiences of the Multani Shikarpuri community in Malabar. As the study progresses, it strives to understand the varied homemaking practices embodied and employed by the community in the host city. The study employs ethnographic and archival research methods to address these concerns and delineate the polyphonous cross-cultural contacts traversing the three regions of Multan, Shikarpur and Malabar.

Understanding Collective Gaze in Social Media

Based on the previous Panopticon theory, this paper proposes new perspectives to observe the gazing behaviors on social media, attempting to regard the onlookers as the gazers who watch and judge specific social issues in cyberspace. To explore the culture and behavioral characteristics of the gazers, this paper resorts to the Virtual Ethnography research method to construct a feasible interpretative model to understand and describe the definition of the collective gaze. This paper finds a dynamic relationship between the gazers and the gazees being gazed at, which can help figure out the mechanisms of the collective gaze, including the motivation of the gazing behaviors and the communication channels among the gazers. In addition, this paper finds that the impacts exerted by the collective gaze are quite complex after quantitative and qualitative analysis of the statistical data, images, and textual information obtained during the research. Overall, this paper provides a reasonable and understandable description of the new media landscape on social media brought by the collective gaze.

Empowerment of Socio-Economic Institutions in Religious Tourism Villages Based on Local Wisdom

The research aims to analyse and design a socio-economic institutional empowerment programme in a unique and attractive religious tourism village based on local wisdom. The study used the Participatory Action Research (PAR) method in a tourist village that is unique as a religious and natural tourism destination in Banyumas Regency, Central Java Province, Indonesia. Data collection through dialogue, observation, documentation, and focus group discussions. Data was analyzed in a participatory, and research informants were determined by purposive sampling of stakeholders in the tourism village. The research results showed that potential of the tourism village is very large and has met the criteria of something to see in the form of flowing rivers as well as beautiful and natural hills, something to do with ritual events as a religious destination, and something to buy, namely food and beverage products that are distinctive, unique and interesting. Reference for further studies using a constructivist paradigm through deeper ethnographic and symbolic interaction research methods. Practical implications can be used as a location for community service, practicum, internships, practical work, and real work lectures for students and lecturers on the development of religious tourism villages and productive tourism villages. Research novelty namely construct a religious tourism village that has distinctive, unique, and interesting characteristics and previously and empowerment programs for the development of socio-economic institutions for local communities. The hope is that it can become a recommendation for the formulation of public and social policies to develop a religious tourism village based on local wisdom.

IDENTIFIKASI STRATEGI KOPING KULI PANGGUL PEREMPUAN DI PASAR TRADISIONAL (STUDI KASUS DI PASAR LEGI KOTA SURAKARTA)

The background to this research is the phenomenon of female workers who work as porters at Legi market, one of the traditional markets in the city of Surakarta. Traditional markets are an interesting place, where modern markets have developed rapidly, but the existence of traditional markets still has its own attraction for most people. There is interaction between sellers and buyers and economic turnover which can be said to be quite high using legal means of payment, namely cash payments. Legi market is one of the most complete traditional markets which is a reference for buyers from Solo and surrounding areas who want to buy goods in large quantities so that this has a positive impact on coolie workers in collecting their fortune. The existence of traditional markets cannot be separated from the existence of porters. Working and working as a porter is not a job that every woman dreams of, but the reality in society is that there are quite a few women who pursue this profession. The lack of education and skills requires these women to pursue the profession of porters. These tough women compete with other workers who in fact have stronger energy and abilities, namely men. These women work to help their husbands to meet household needs by trying their luck working as porters. The aim of this research is to find out the coping strategies of female workers who have a dual role, namely as women who work to earn a living for the family and as housewives. What kind of strategies encourage these female workers to improve the family economy? The type of research used in this research is ethnographic research methods, to describe the social and cultural structure of a society. The research results show that there are several factors that strengthen women's reasons for working to help their husbands meet their economic needs