Mountain People Research Articles

Senjata Api sebagai Mas Kawin Pada Masyarakat Adat di Pegunungan Arfak Papua Barat

This study aims to analyze the validity of firearms as dowry and the legal consequences arising from the existence of Papuan customary law in the Arfak Mountains of West Papua. This research is a normative-empirical research with a statutory approach and a legal sociology approach. The types and sources of law used in this research are primary data sourced from observation, interviews, and documentation, as well as secondary data derived from literature. Furthermore, the collected data is analyzed with qualitative description. The results showed that: (1) the validity or legality of firearms as a dowry does not apply to the marriage of the mountain people of the Arfak tribe. This is because firearms can only be owned by law enforcement officers and security forces who have permission to use firearms; (2) the legal consequences of the enactment of Arfak tribal customs regarding the provision of firearms as dowry are considered valid because firearms are only a symbol in the customs of indigenous tribes and are considered to have historical values that have been passed down from generation to generation, and are not an aspect that cancels a marriage.

Climate change vulnerability of tribe managing Piper agroforestry systems in the Indian sub-Himalayan region

CONTEXTThe agrarian society of the Himalayan landscape is experiencing the continuous growing ill impact of climate change. The impacts are compounding due to shifting agriculture, which has jeopardized the ecological balance mainly by reducing the cultivation fallow cycles. Pnar, a hill tribe of the Assam state, Indian sub-Himalayan region, has transitioned shifting agriculture to Piper agroforestry (Piper betle L.), providing them numerous tangible and non-tangible benefits. Over the past three decades, there has been a notable transition from shifting agriculture to Piper agroforestry, driven by the rising demand in the market. OBJECTIVEUnderstanding climate change impact on agroforestry is crucial to addressing the climate crisis and to provision the adaptation of the tribe for the successful promotion of Piper agroforestry. METHODSTo assess the cause and nature of vulnerability in the study region, we surveyed 171 randomly selected households across 15 randomly selected tribe villages using the household-level questionnaire. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONThe present study showed that the villages with lower land holdings, higher loss of crop productivity due to extreme events, disease infestation and lower livelihood diversification were more vulnerable to climate change. The prominent diseases “leaf spot” and “root rot” were identified as a serious concern among the Piper farmers responsible for a decline in crop yield; the severity of losses in productivity leads to economic instability among households. Villages with prominent farm management strategies and greater decision-making abilities contributed explicitly to lower vulnerability. In contrast, villages with lower adaptive strategies were found specifically due to poor social networking and inadequate household infrastructure besides poor literacy levels. Additionally, the lack of multi-cropping farming and livestock management was a major cause of high climate sensitivity. Therefore, appropriate state government support is required to invest in crop diversification, better decision-making capability of tribes through education, and improved infrastructure besides diversifying the rural economy to enhance the adaptive capacity of the farmers to reduce their climate vulnerability and achieve agriculture-livestock-forestry nexus. SIGNIFICANCEThe sustainable Piper agroforestry farm management practices represent climate-smart agriculture, favouring high tree species diversity while reducing the farmers' vulnerability to climate change.

A Community-Based Reproductive Health Care Model Effectively Enhances Reproductive Health Among Lahu Women in Northern Thailand.

Inadequate and delayed access to sexual and reproductive health services among the Hill Tribe population can be attributed to the intersection of socioeconomic challenges and distinct cultural practices. To address this limitation and create a tailored model capable of addressing it, this study assesses the effectiveness of the Community-Based Reproductive Health Care Model (CRHC) in enhancing reproductive health knowledge, attitudes, and practices among Lahu women, a prominent hill tribe population in Northern Thailand. Implementing the CRHC model includes training programs for community influencers and subsequent education for Lahu women using culturally adapted courses. The effectiveness of the model is assessed through pre-test and post-test comparisons of knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to reproductive health care and analyzed using paired t-tests and repeated ANOVA. The scores for knowledge, attitudes, and practices among Lahu women changed from 8.92 ± 2.02, 52.99 ± 5.54, and 27.76 ± 6.67 to 10.47 ± 2.32 (p < 0.001), 56.61 ± 5.54 (p < 0.001), and 29.47 ± 6.76 (p = 0.030), respectively. Significant improvements are observed in these areas, particularly in maternal health practices among pregnant Lahu women (n = 11). This study additionally evaluates the model's impact on the healthcare system by analyzing changes in government performance indexes, showing increased access to high-quality antenatal care and contraceptive usage. This study highlights the challenges faced by hill tribe populations in accessing healthcare, emphasizing the need for tailored reproductive health education and the importance of addressing health insurance barriers. The CRHC model's success illustrates the potential of community-based, culturally sensitive interventions in improving reproductive health outcomes, providing valuable insights for similar interventions in other indigenous or marginalized communities.

Accidental Falls Related to Physical and Environmental Risk Factors Among Older Hill Tribe Adults in Northern Thailand

Objective: Falls remain a cause of disability in the elderly. The present study was carried out to estimate the prevalence of falls among the hill tribe elderly population in Northern Thailand and identify its associated factors.Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in participants from 61 hill tribe villages in Chiang Rai province, Thailand aged more than 60 years. A simple random method was used to select the participants. A questionnaire was developed and validated for data collection. Timed-up and go test (TUGT) was used to assess the dynamic balance and risk of falls in the participants. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the associations between the study variables (p-value&lt;0.05).Results: One hundred eighty-two participants were recruited into the study with a mean age of 69.54 years (S.D.=7.02). 59.9 % were women. It was found that 17.6% of elderly who fell in the previous 6 months and 28.0% of elderly who risks of falls as assessed by the TUGT. The multiple logistic regression model showed that tribe (adjusted odds ratio (aOR)=4.40, 95 confidence interval (CI)%=1.88 to 22.02), dizziness (aOR=3.40, 95 CI%=1.70 to 16.70), history of fall in the last 6 months (aOR=2.42, 95 CI%=1.06 to 8.64), location of falls (aOR=1.37, 95 CI%=1.02 to 18.22), and the 15-item geriatric depression scale (GDS-15) (aOR=12.91, 95 CI%=1.07 to 84.85) were the associated risk factors for having a serious fall for hill tribe elderly.Conclusion: This study provides important determining factors associated with elderly falls, which can assist in developing and implementing an appropriate fall prevention program through environmental adjustments for the elderly.

Faithful Marriage - The Human Beauty of the Ede People in Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak Province, Vietnam

The Ede people are one of the long-standing ethnic groups in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Their unique cultural heritage is reflected in various architectural works, festivals, religious rituals, customs, and traditions. This article analyzes marital fidelity, a human and cultural value that continues to be present in the cultural life of the Ede people in Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak Province, Vietnam.

When wasn't modernism? Reflections on the stone age

ABSTRACT In The Politics of Modernism, Raymond Williams pointed out that as a category for understanding the new, modernism was thoroughly ideological. This article addresses the problem of modernism's exclusivity and the ways in which it associates the new, and by extension the present, with certain qualities and privileges as well as with coloniality in general. Building on recent expansions of modernism by Susan Stanford Friedman and David Damrosch as well as on a general turn against historicism in the literary humanities, it suggests the value to reading modernism in relation to prehistory. Thinking in terms of the memory of things, the persistence of landscapes and materials, offers a way in which we can arrive at an untimely conception of modernism: a conception that is meaningful and useful beyond the limited scope of conventional constructions of the field. In illustrating this argument, the essay discusses the Maryhill Monument as well as the sculptural work of Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Kurt Schwitters, Carl Andre, and Thomas Hirschhorn. The essay concludes with a consideration of Williams's awareness of the revisionary potentials of prehistory in relation to modernism in his last, unfinished, novel, People of the Black Mountains.

Genetic polymorphism among two hill tribes of Assam, India

Genetic polymorphism among two hill tribes of Assam, India

Influential Factors on Smoking and Drinking Behavior: Health Literacy among Adolescents from the Hill Tribe Communities, Thailand

Influential Factors on Smoking and Drinking Behavior: Health Literacy among Adolescents from the Hill Tribe Communities, Thailand

Application of Virtual Reality-based Cloud Computing in Digital Creation of Dabie Mountain Culture

Abstract This paper looks at 3D model retrieval techniques for digital virtual workshops in cloud computing. The global D2 shape distribution features are first used to sort the models for initial retrieval. Then the local curvature features are used to further optimize the sorted results to obtain the final retrieval results. Through the historical and cultural theme scene design, stage performance scene design, and interactive performance design to enhance the immersive experience of the corresponding cultural creations, the creative inheritance and dissemination mode of Dabie Mountain culture in the new period is created. The results show that the difference in the percentage of attention points in the landscape node area is significant, P=0.032, indicating that the virtual reality experience group is better able to meet the needs of the experience. The weights of the three evaluation dimensions of the virtual experience of Dabie Mountain folk song culture are, in order, mood design (0.4073) &gt; scene design (0.3814) &gt; context design (0.2113). Designing multi-sensory (visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile) is of the highest importance. In terms of interactive experience, more attention is paid to the timeliness and accuracy of feedback, as well as the guidance of operations. In terms of emotional experience, more attention is paid to the sense of pleasure, surprise, and satisfaction. In the cultural experience, more attention is paid to traditional folk songs and historical architectural displays.

The challenges and potential solutions of achieving meaningful consent amongst research participants in northern Thailand: a qualitative study

BackgroundAchieving meaningful consent can be challenging, particularly in contexts of diminished literacy, yet is a vital part of participant protection in global health research.MethodWe explored the challenges and potential solutions of achieving meaningful consent through a qualitative study in a predominantly hill tribe ethnic minority population in northern Thailand, a culturally distinctive population with low literacy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 37 respondents who had participated in scrub typhus clinical research, their family members, researchers and other key informants. A thematic analysis was conducted.ResultsOur analysis identified four interrelated themes surrounding participants’ ability to give consent: varying degrees of research understanding, limitations of using informal translators, issues impacting decisions to join research, and voluntariness of consent. Suggestions for achieving more meaningful consent included the use of formal translators and community engagement with research populations.ConclusionsParticipant’s agency in decision making to join research should be supported, but research information needs to be communicated to potential participants in a way that they can understand. We found that improved understanding about the study and its potential benefits and harms goes beyond literacy or translation and requires attention to social and cultural factors.

Resettlement of Foreign Subjects to North-Western Caucasus in Second Half of 19th Century

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the process of resettling foreign subjects to the North-Western Caucasus in the latter half of the 19th century. The study is based on a wide range of issues, from the reasons for this process, its legal framework, identification of major migration flows, to the course of resettlement and analysis of its results. The author concludes that the resettlement of foreign subjects was initiated by the Russian authorities as part of solving large-scale state tasks of settling a vast territory. It is noted that this territory was cleared of mountain people to be settled by populations loyal to Russian statehood and to develop the region's economy. It is shown that on the part of the Russian authorities, this process was ensured by corresponding legislative acts and measures of material support for migrants. It is claimed that the resettlement of foreign subjects to the North-Western Caucasus had a significant impact on the economic development of the region. The author pays special attention to the issue of adaptation of resettlers in their new place of residence. The conclusion is drawn that their natural-productive adaptation occurred more intensively than their socioethnic adaptation.

Prevalence of and factors associated with scrub typhus exposure among the hill tribe population living in high incidence areas in Thailand: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundScrub typhus is a significant tropical disease, occurring in rural settings and therefore usually afflicting remote agricultural populations who have lower socioeconomic status and limited access to medical care. A large proportion of the hill tribe people in Thailand are financially poor, have limited education, and do not have adequate health care access. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of and determine factors associated with scrub typhus exposure among the hill tribe population living in high-incidence areas in northern Thailand.MethodsA cross-sectional study design was used to gather information from hill tribe people aged 18 years and over living in ten hill tribe villages in Mae Fah Luang, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Participants who met the inclusion criteria were invited to participate in the study. A validated questionnaire was used as the research instrument, and 5 mL blood samples were taken. Orientia tsutsugamushi IgM and IgG antibodies were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and then confirmed by immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Logistic regression was used to detect associations between variables at a significance level of α = 0.05.ResultsA total of 485 hill tribe people participated in the study; 57.1% were female, 29.9% were over 60 years of age, 46.4% were from the Akha tribe, and 74.2% had never attended school. The overall prevalence of scrub typhus exposure was 48.0%. In the multivariate model, five variables were found to be associated with scrub typhus exposure. Participants aged over 60 years had a 4.31-fold increased risk (95% CI = 1.73–10.72) of scrub typhus exposure compared to those who were younger than 30 years. Those who were illiterate had a 3.46-fold increased risk (95% CI = 1.93–6.21) of scrub typhus exposure than those who had at least a primary education level. Participants from the Akha tribe had a 2.20-fold increased risk (95% CI = 1.31–3.72) of scrub typhus exposure than those from the Lahu tribe. Subjects who had a history of cutting grass had a 1.85-fold increased risk (95% CI = 1.20–2.84) of scrub typhus exposure. Those who never wore gloves for farming had a 2.12-fold increased risk (95% CI = 1.28–3.49) of scrub typhus exposure than those who wore gloves daily.ConclusionsThere is a high prevalence of scrub typhus exposure among the hill tribe in Thailand. Effective public health interventions to promote scrub typhus awareness and prevention are urgently needed in these populations.

Hepatitis B prevalence and associated factors in adults presenting for infection screening in northern Thailand

Background and aimsHepatitis B is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In view of the World Health Organization 2030 targets, effective screening of chronic infection is crucial. We have assessed the prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis B surface antigen in adults presenting for screening. MethodsFree-of-charge and anonymous services for simultaneous hepatitis B, hepatitis C, human immunodeficiency virus and syphilis screening and counseling were provided in four facilities in northern Thailand. Analyses were performed separately in clients born before integration into the 1992 hepatitis B vaccine Thailand's Expanded Program on Immunization and in clients born afterwards. ResultsBetween October 2015 and August 2020, hepatitis B surface antigen prevalence was 7.2 % (185/2578) in clients born before 1992 (95 % confidence interval [CI] = 6.2%–8.2 %). In the multivariable analysis, characteristics independently associated with a higher risk of infection were being born male (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.49, 95 % CI = 1.10–2.01) and being part of a hill tribe (aOR = 1.65, 95 % CI = 1.01–2.70). Forty-two percent were unaware of their infection. In clients born in 1992 or afterwards, prevalence was 1.5 % (43/2933) (95 % CI = 1.1%–2.0 %) and characteristics independently associated with a higher risk were being born between 1992 and 1995 (aOR = 1.90, 95 % CI = 1.00–3.61), being born male (aOR = 2.60, 95 % CI = 1.34–5.07), being part of a hill tribe (aOR = 5.09, 95 % CI = 2.52–10.26) and having ever injected drugs (aOR = 4.33, 95 % CI = 1.23–15.24). ConclusionsRisk factor-based screening would miss many chronic hepatitis cases. Screening all adults once in their lifetime may be beneficial until the second generation of immunized infants have reached adult age.

The Hillbilly Stereotype in Horror Comics

Abstract From William Byrd’s 18th-century “lubbers” of the North Carolina backcountry through the deviant gun-toting hicks with missing teeth from John Boorman’s survival thriller Deliverance (1972) to Darlene Snell from Netflix’s recent crime drama series Ozark (2016), the stereotype of the “hillbilly” has been one of the most pervasive images in American popular culture. This image has been usually associated with mountaineers inhabiting either the Appalachians or the Ozarks, and it has portrayed them as dirty, lazy, ignorant, often mean, violent and dangerous. Since the beginning of the 20th century, it has been popularized by film, music, and, starting with the Depression Era, also by comic strips such as Al Capp’s Li’l Abner, which shaped all subsequent depictions of these mountain folk. This article considers the depiction of hillbillies in comics with a focus on horror comics published by EC in the early 1950s.

Tunnels as Temples of 'New Green India': Dominant Narratives of Himalayan Dam Building

The dramatic unfolding of the Joshimath crisis in Uttarakhand, India, has brought the world’s attention once again to the Himalaya. The contribution of a 520-megawatt hydropower dam to land subsidence is squarely in the spotlight. River valleys with bumper-to-bumper hydropower dam building, especially in the North Western Himalaya, in the past decade and a half or so, have witnessed frequent slope de-stabilisation, landslides and seepages. Unlike the visible dispossession of rural—often adivasi and dalit— populations in reservoir based dam affected areas, even establishing and ‘scientifically’ correlating cascading hazards with human impacts of the ‘invisible’ activity of run-of-the-river dams in the relatively sparsely populated regions of the Himalaya, has been an uphill battle for impacted mountain people. This article examines the conflict around hydropower development in Himachal Pradesh to understand the trajectory of State policy, dominant narratives and responses of affected communities. Tracing the history of such contestation in the 180 MW Bajoli Holi hydropower project in Chamba’s tribal belt Bharmour, we illustrate the complicity of project proponents, regulatory institutions, political actors, scientists and the judiciary in transferring the project’s risks to local inhabitants and the environment. The burden of building fresh evidence, staking claims and posing counter-narratives lies unfairly with the dispossessed as they struggle for safety and survival.

Tima

Tima (ISO 639-3: tms) is a Niger-Congo language spoken by roughly 7,000 people in the Nuba mountains of Sudan, in north-eastern Africa, as well as in smaller communities in the bigger towns of Sudan such as Khartoum and Port Sudan. It is part of the Katla language group which includes the languages Katla and Julut as well as Tima, with Tima being the most distinct of the three. All three languages are regarded as endangered, mainly due to the spreading influence of Arabic in recent decades, but also due to greater speaker mobility. Broadly speaking, there is a decline in speaker fluency from older to younger speakers of Tima. The Tima people are not only exposed to Arabic as the lingua franca and official language of Sudan, but also to English and Kiswahili. These latter languages were introduced into the school system during the extremely difficult circumstances of the second civil war (1983–2005), when teachers from Kenya came to the Tima region (in addition, many Tima people went to Kenya for further education).1

Assessment of Landslide: A five decade impact study on human life in the Koshi Province

Koshi province covers about 82 %of hills and mountain region. Rugged and fragile geomorphology is our landform’s characteristics with various reasons like rock structure, slope, rainfall and unplanned settlement as well as developmental intervention. Geological, morphological, human and physical causes are common factors to trigger the vulnerability. This study has found that 990 human lives have lost and around 107,259 people have affected during 1971- 2020 in the Koshi province of Nepal. Likewise, the maximum number of deaths was 114 people in 2002 and the minimum deaths were 1 person in 1987 during same period. Out of 14 district, four districts have been identified very extremely vulnerable which include Taplejung, Khotang, Okhaldhunga and Sangkhuwasabha, while other four districts Bhojpur, Solukhumbu, Ilam and Panchther are extremely vulnerable districts in terms of landslide hazard. In addition, the analysis of number of human deaths caused by landslide shows that the impact of human life and properties has been fluctuating in each decade over the fifty years. There was high vulnerability of human life in the decades of 1990s and 2000s. In order to reduce the landslide risk in the surroundings of mountain people and their environment, preparedness of adaptation measures should be considered in the future.

Newspaper ‘Gazavat’ and Issue of North Caucasus in Nazi Germany’s Propaganda in 1943-1944

The newspaper ‘Gazavat’ is considered in the article as a source of printed propaganda by Nazi Germany among the mountain peoples of the North Caucasus in the national formations of the Wehrmacht. In Russian and foreign historiography, the materials of ‘Gazavat’ have been poorly studied and insufficiently introduced into scientific circulation. The aim of the article is to analyze the articles of ‘Gazavat’ for 1943–1944 in order to identify the content of Germany’s specialized propaganda aimed at the peoples of the North Caucasus. Based on content analysis and thematic analysis methods, the author identifies four thematic blocks: national history, political future, fighting spirit, and religion. The conducted research showed that Germany used well-thought-out political technologies to manipulate the real costs of integrating the North Caucasus into the Russian Empire and the USSR. The release of the newspaper ‘Gazavat’ for North Caucasus units of the Wehrmacht was significantly delayed. The specialized propaganda was aimed at converting traditional institutions, national hopes, and historical traumas of the mountain peoples into a call for retribution against the Soviet regime. At the same time, a combination of the potential and expert knowledge of mountain emigrants, German political and military actors was implemented.

Developing a Depression Care Model for the Hill Tribes: A Family- and Community-Based Participatory Research.

A high prevalence of depression has been detected among individuals from the hill tribes in Thailand. However, there are no proper interventions to address this problem. Using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) design, the study team developed a model of depression care for this population. The study involved 45 people in the model development and 65 people in the model testing, who were patients, family members, village health volunteers (VHVs), community and religious leaders, healthcare personnel, NGOs, and local administrative staff. The model development was divided into three phases: understanding the current situation of depression and care, model development, and evaluation of its effectiveness using psychological and relevant outcomes. Questionnaires, observations, focus groups, and in-depth interviews were used for data collection, and content analysis was employed for qualitative data. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to analyze changes in VHVs' knowledge and skills before and after training. The resulting model, "SMILE," consists of stakeholders' readiness (S), external and internal motivations (M), interpersonal relationship (I), life and community assets (L), and empowerment (E). VHVs underwent training on the model, and after training, their knowledge increased significantly from 3.50 ± 1.14 to 8.28 ± 0.81 (p < 0.001). Moreover, their basic counselling and depression screening skills showed improvement from 3.39 ± 1.23 to 7.64 ± 3.76 (p < 0.001). The developed model can be applied to other hill tribe communities in Northern Thailand to improve depression care.

Mountain Tourism Workforce's Resilience During COVID Pandemic

Nepal is a home to different famous mountains including Mount Everest, the highest mountain of the planet. The geography of Nepal is both an opportunity and a threat to the country and the communities. More than 15 percent of land lies in mountainous regions where tourism is the major profession to rely on for the communities. However, the region encountered one of the greatest threats in the form of COVID-19 which restricted people's mobility. The livelihood of the mountain communities which are directly or indirectly dependent on tourism was severely affected by COVID-19. The prime trait that helped minimize the damage was the resilience of the mountain community. This qualitative study attempts to assess the resilience (community resilience) of mountain people with the cases from the Everest and Annapurna region and analyze it against the theory of resilience.