Indigenous Customs Research Articles

KISWAHILI RADIO BROADCASTING IN KENYA: PERSPECTIVES, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

This research aimed to look into the falling standards of content in radio broadcasts in Kenya and the disengagement of audiences due to commercialization, regulatory pressures, and competition from vernacular and digital platforms. The objectives of this paper were to evaluate the impact of these challenges on Kiswahili radio stations, identify possibilities for enriching their content and expanding their audience bases, and strategies towards media relevance in Kenya’s dynamic landscape. A qualitative approach involving semi-structured interview guides with Kenyan leading radio producers and presenters, key informants, and listeners was employed to provide an analytical perspective on listening habits and key concerns about Kiswahili radio. Findings indicate that Kiswahili radio has played a significant role in promoting public discourse by offering a platform for people to voice their opinions concerning national matters and the cultural significance of indigenous customs and practices while creating a sense of belonging among its listeners. They act as a medium through which important messages relating to healthcare services and governance are passed across to others, including political communication tools that mobilize the masses for elections. Factors such as lack of funds, new technologies, political interference, and linguistic variety can sooner or later bring negative effects, affecting the stations’ programming quality and ability to respond to the constantly changing media environment. However, barriers encountered in this study suggest that growth in Kiswahili radio broadcasting can still be achieved through embracing digitization, diversification of revenue, upholding good journalism practices, inclusiveness of the community, geographical expansion, and regional and international outreach.

“Indigenous peoples, Business and the state: from the experience of legal regulation in the Russian arctic”

This article examines the role of the Commission on Legal Pluralism and one of its founders, Keebet von Benda-Beckmann (1946–2022), to whose memory I dedicate this analysis of the development of legal anthropology in Russia. In the article, I focus mainly on the indigenous peoples of the North of the Russian Federation. Legal pluralism methodology is important for the rights of indigenous peoples in modern Russia from various perspectives. Introduction to the work of the Commission on Legal Pluralism has been an important step in the formation of an interdisciplinary field of legal anthropology in Russia. Keebet von Benda-Beckmann played a major role in this process, and was involved in the 11th International Congress on Customary Law and Legal Pluralism, which was held in Moscow in 1997. Interdisciplinarity has become a defining trend in the study of the legal status of indigenous peoples in legal anthropology, both for the creation of special legislation and for the protection of indigenous rights. There has also been a significant turn in academic discourse from the study of customary law as a traditional law that existed in the past to the study of it as a regulator of the contemporary life of aboriginal and other communities. Field research in recent decades in the Russian Arctic confirms the need to emphasise the role of the state and globalisation when analysing the legal situation of indigenous peoples in the context of legal pluralism. In this article, two cases are analysed. The first is the development of the Russian Federation Standard on Social Responsibility for Business in the Arctic 2020, with which I was directly involved. My task as a legal anthropologist was to prepare a document that combined international law, national legislation, business standards and regulations, and the customary law of indigenous peoples of the North. The second case is related to the analysis of the regional legislation of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) concerning nomadic peoples, and consideration of indigenous customs and traditions in the state legal system. The importance of this perspective for the protection of the rights of these peoples is recognised in the decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation in response to the complaint filed by Gennady Shchukin, a representative of the Dolgan community of Krasnoyarsk Region, relating to the value of customary law in the regulation of hunting. Such judicial practice is rare, but it is of great importance in determining the status of indigenous peoples in the eyes of the state. This article deals with the possibility of taking into account the customary law of small indigenous peoples of the North based on documents adopted before 2022.

Intersection Between Modern Technologies and Halal Tourism

The rapid pace of digital innovation has significantly impacted various sectors, including tourism. The convergence of halal tourism and digital innovation offers unprecedented possibilities. However, how the fusion between modern technologies and halal tourism can enhance Muslim travellers’ experiences is still not clear. It is crucial to understand the dynamics of amplification through digital avenues, focusing on convenience, accessibility, and cultural enrichment. Simultaneously, the multifaceted ramifications of digital mechanisms and platforms on Muslim travellers’ journeys are poorly understood. Hence, the current study aims to understand Muslim travellers’ preferences and expectations regarding digital innovations in halal tourism. Moreover, it also aims to gain a holistic understanding of their experiences with digital tools in the industry. To achieve the objectives, the study adopts the methodology of reviewing existing literature from various sources. The study provides useful insights into digital innovations. For example, halal-conscious travellers can find comprehensive information on digital platforms; Halal food delivery apps make halal food easy to get. In addition, Muslim travellers can better connect with their destinations through virtual tours of historical landmarks and Indigenous customs using Augmented Reality (AR). At the same time, halal-conscious travellers benefit from an intricate web of experiences, recommendations, and insights woven through online forums, social media groups, and travel blogs. Hence, this study is significant in highlighting the connection between halal tourism and the digital resurgence and the transformative power of technology in enhancing Muslim travellers’ experience. Practical insights for stakeholders in the overlapping fields of halal tourism and technology are explored, including the effects of digital enablers on accessibility, cultural engagement, and community nexus. Furthermore, the findings encourage the development of strategies to cater to the evolving aspirations of travellers seeking Muslim-friendly products and services in the digital era.

Rituals in acculturation of islam and local traditions of the Bajo Tribe in Gorontalo

This study investigates the process of assimilation of Islamic practices and indigenous customs inside the ceremonies conducted by the Bajo Tribe. The rites performed by the Bajo people encompass a fusion of Islamic tenets with their indigenous beliefs, specifically centered around their reverence for the sea's sovereign. The amalgamation of these two ideologies yields a potent synergy. The Bajo people, as Muslims, fulfill the religious obligations of Islam, which includes commemorating the birth anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad SAW. In addition, the Bajo people also perform the Massoro and Bate' rituals, which are the most significant traditional ceremonies of the Bajo Tribe in Torosiaje Village. The Bajo tribe's customs are shaped by the integration and embodiment of these two ideas, which are expressed through values, norms, and laws that serve as guiding principles for their way of life. The ceremonies performed by the Bajo people stem from established traditions passed down through generations.

Assessing the Role and Identity of Indigenous Women in Northeast India

AbstractHow can a society be democratic when a section of its population is deprived or barred from participating in decision‐making platforms because of their gender? How can we talk about equality and freedom when the Naga society in Northeast India is marred by the fact that a few affluent sections of the population – those who are male – have the prerogative? Can egalitarianism be imagined while Indigenous customs and laws give freedom and authority to the people in decision‐making roles, are largely prohibitive, and fail to promote egalitarianism? The Naga society in Northeast India is fiercely patriarchal, where gender roles and responsibilities are defined according to norms that restrict women's roles in the social and political arena.

Globalization and Glocalization in the History of Chinese Medicine

The globalization of Chinese medicine, forged through successive waves of migration, cultural exchanges, and economic imperatives, constitutes a nuanced and intricate process with historical roots extending over millennia. It stands as the culmination of interconnected historical events that reverberated beyond the confines of China, emerging as a phenomenon characterized by the adjustment of Chinese medical theories, clinical practices, and materia medica to indigenous customs and healthcare traditions prevalent in both proximate and distant regions. In these glocalized processes, the global and the local intersect and mix. The frameworks of globalization and glocalization allow a critical interpretation of the many hybridizations that have shaped overseas Chinese medicine’s history and present.

Policing the Pueblo: Vagrancy and Indigenous Citizenship in Oaxaca, 1848–1876

Abstract This article explores the politics of citizenship in Zapotec communities in nineteenth-century Oaxaca, Mexico. Several studies discuss how Indigenous peoples were incorporated into the Mexican nation-state during this period, but few have examined how state law and Indigenous customs meshed to produce modern Mexican citizenship. This study examines the construction of Mexican citizenship through Zapotec people’s experiences with vagrancy laws. For Indigenous peoples, two forms of citizenship existed: a republican citizenship that was reserved for all adult males and upheld by Mexican law, and an unwritten Indigenous citizenship that included both adult males and females. Based on close readings of criminal records, government reports, and correspondence between state officials and local Zapotec authorities in the Tlacolula Valley, this article demonstrates that, unlike Mexican citizenship, membership in Indigenous communities, which the author calls “Indigenous citizenship,” rested on members’ payment of state taxes and provision of financial and labor contributions for the pueblo (community). Those who refused to pay their state taxes or rejected the gendered customs of their pueblo were punished by the community: females were punished by the patriarchs of the family while males were punished through state institutions. As the state’s repressive institutions expanded throughout the course of the nineteenth century, Indigenous leaders found more recourse to punish males who failed to live “honorably” as members of Indigenous communities. Considering the interplay between Mexican and Indigenous citizenship, this article explores how Zapotec communities utilized vagrancy laws, in particular, to police and criminalize males who threatened Indigenous social life by behaving in dishonorable ways.

Body, Dress, and Symbolic Capital: Multifaceted Presentation of PUGREE in Colonial Governance of British India

The association of colonial power with turban has not been made since the beginning of British rule in India. This link has been developed through various setbacks. The Britishers’ perceptions about the dress of the native employees was not as same in the 1880s–90s as it was in the 1800s. As the time progressed, the body-politics related to colonizer’s sartorial manners in India matured. By attaching the tag of “civilized” to own sartorial etiquette, the Britishers made their social etiquette inaccessible to the natives for power’s sake. It was from this mentality that the Britishers created an English-educated class in Indian Native society, who used to consider following many indigenous customs and manners tantamount to their backwardness. Wearing a turban was among one of them. Based on the turban, the sphere of symbolic power that was constituted in colonial India until the end of the nineteenth century will be discussed in this article.

The Problems and Prospects of Child Adoption in Nigeria

It is not in dispute that children are an integral part of every family. More often than not, the absence of children in a family is viewed as problematic, especially in a place like Nigeria where indigenous customs and traditional practices still largely govern the beliefs of people. It is expected that every marriage should produce biological children; however, some couples are not that fortunate for various reasons ranging from barrenness to loss of pregnancy or non-survival of children. To this end, adoption offers such couples an alternative which makes it possible for them to have children which they can legally call their own, with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities over such children as if they were the biological parents. Although adoption is not a novel practice in the Nigerian Family Law, many challenges have hampered the smooth running of the process, particularly in recent times. Sadly, chief among these challenges is the bizarre reality of “baby factories” that the social welfare system has had to grapple with. Hence, in order to aid a proper interrogation of relevant issues, this paper is divided into five sections. Section I deals with introductory matters in relation to adoption; section two considers the legal framework regulating adoption in Nigeria; section three which is the thrust of the paper, considers the problems facing the child adoption system in Nigeria; section four takes a look at the position of intercountry adoption as well as the future of adoption in Nigeria; while section five concludes with meaningful suggestions that could uncurl the adoption system in Nigeria.

Nature Conservation in Communities of Rural India through Perspective of UN SDGs

The global community is divided on economic status. The conditions of the poor communities are critical, especially in developing and underdeveloped nations. Most of these nations belong to the Asian, African, and South American continents. The nations from these continents owe rich natural heritage and cultural diversity. The eco-cultural ethos embedded in the indigenous customs and traditions of these nations has global relevance in the modern age of information. It is fact that the solution to any environmental challenge exists in the cultural roots of the nation. India is one of such nations which inhabit diverse eco-culture. The purpose of this paper is to understand the natural heritage of rural India and the local conservation practices prevalent in the rural communities to achieve the targets of UN SDGs. Undoubtedly, nature conservation and environment protection involve social dimensions connected to the local ecological setup. The eco-centric approach of the Indian culture lies in the concepts of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutubkam’ (Earth is one family), ‘Aranya Sanskriti’ (Forest Culture), and the ‘Prakriti Purush’ (Natural Human) which are deeply embedded in the traditions and the customs of the Indian society. Based on traditional conservation practices, the community manages the local natural heritage. The diversity of customs and traditions results in the vividness of the conservation practices. Thus, the socio-ecological systems could be used for site-specific conservation programs and policies.

An Indigenous ethical model for drone operations in Canada

Drones will revolutionize various aspects of Canadian society. Medical cargo drones are transporting crucial supplies and biological samples, such as blood plasma and organs. This article explores Indigenous ethical dimensions of integrating drones in Canadian contexts, represented by the acronym DRONE that embodies the following key principles: D: Decolonize—This principle advocates for methodologies that aim to rectify historical injustices and align research with Indigenous customs and storytelling. R: Respect, Reciprocity, Relationship, and Relevance—These principles emphasize equity, mutual respect, and relationship-based collaboration in drone technology. O: Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession—OCAP® recognizes Indigenous self-determination in research and development projects, focusing on data ownership and control. N: Natural Law—This principle underscores the importance of respecting the environment and harmonious relations between Indigenous communities and the natural world in drone projects. E: Economic Development—Acknowledging the significance of Indigenous economies and addressing historical financial barriers, the drone industry can contribute to economic prosperity in Indigenous communities. These principles are an ethical imperative to fostering trust in Indigenous communities. Partnerships guided by the DRONE framework facilitate culturally sensitive, ethically sound, and effective solutions, advancing inclusivity and responsible technological innovation.

Subjugative cultural transformation in Chinua Achebe’s arrow of god

Chinua Achebe's Post-Colonial novel, Arrow of God, was released in 1964. This novel is a component of the African Trilogy, which also includes two other novels – Things Fall Apart, No Longer at Ease. In Arrow of God, the astounding tale of a man's loss of faith and subsequent collapse in a community that colonialism has irrevocably altered is told. It serves as an example of the clash between indigenous customs and beliefs and the changes that the British intended to impose on colonial countries. This paper explores how colonialism, brought about by British imperialism, altered native African culture irrevocably. This demonstrates people's fragile psychological states since they are so quickly swayed by the new culture (Christianity). The combined effects of colonialism and psychology on humans as a result of cultural change are illustrated in this paper.

Safeguarding Intangible Heritage among the Wajita in Northern Tanzania

Abstract The waJita are among the communities in Tanzania that have their own ways of safeguarding their diverse forms of ancestrally inherited culture, which include strict observance of oral traditions, informal training and apprenticeships. Yet these community practices have been neglected in favour of more recently developed measures (e.g. digital and written documentation, revitalization and creating living museums) which are proposed by experts and foreign organizations including UNESCO. But these more modern safeguarding initiatives often fail; they also have caused conflicts between communities and the authorities overseeing such endeavours. It is instructive therefore to revisit in some detail the waJita community’s indigenous customs and practices that ensure the survival of their own traditional ceremonies. Illumination of such strategies inspires the question of how these community-based practices can be incorporated in the centrally organized formal arrangements and structures designed to preserve intangible heritages of Tanzania.

An exploration of the coaching approaches used by Mi’kmaw First Nation coaches

ABSTRACT This study explored the coaching approaches of Mi’kmaw First Nation coaches in Canada. Eight coaches from across six Mi’kmaw First Nation communities in Nova Scotia, Canada, participated in a semi-structured interview to discuss what it means to be an Indigenous coach. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were generated inductively using a reflexive thematic analysis. The findings were conceptualised to suggest three concurrent approaches to Mi’kmaq coaching: two-eyed seeing in coaching, multifaceted coaching, and medicine wheel coaching. These approaches highlight the perceived importance and desire to blend Indigenous and Western ideologies of coaching to ensure Indigenous customs and traditions are considered when participating within a pre-dominantly Western conception of sport.

Constraints to effective comanagement of New Zealand's customary fisheries: experiences of the East Otago Taiāpure

Centralization of fisheries management within large-scale, colonial governing bodies can remove access and management rights of Indigenous communities and deplete marine resources through a mismatch in bioecological and managerial scales. Management of pāua (blackfoot abalone, <em>Haliotis iris</em>) in Aotearoa New Zealand exemplifies this transition from small-scale fisheries management by tangata whenua (local Indigenous people with historical claim to the land, Māori) to central government regulation and subsequent overexploitation. Comanagement strategies have the potential to address degradation of biological and cultural diversity by returning management to local scales and authority to local people. New Zealand's customary fisheries management legislation aims to facilitate such a devolution of management back to tangata whenua through the establishment of Taiāpure Local Fisheries and Mātaitai Reserves. However, local management systems can remain constrained by the wider governance structures that encompass them. These constraints are discussed in relation to a management proposal for pāua harvesting made by the East Otago Taiāpure Management Committee. The proposal aimed to return fishing practices to a customary method, providing greater protection for declining pāua populations while allowing a small harvest to continue. After a long and protracted application process, central government did not support the proposed regulation. This opposition demonstrated many of the constraints that local management committees face as they endeavor to operate within the confines of broader legal frameworks: conflicting worldviews, inequitable power sharing, perceived inferiority of Indigenous customs, requirements for conventional science, and navigation of bureaucratic processes. Insights are also drawn from another small-scale abalone fishery (ormer, <em>Haliotis tuberculata</em>) in the Channel Islands, for which the desired regulation has been in place for over three decades.

Ossetian Ritual Feasts and Transpersonal Experience: Re-Description of a Religion as a Religious Practice

Abstract The protest of the North Ossetian nativist religious movement against discourses of dominant institutions in the public sphere involves as its necessary component ‘re-description’ of religion in general and ‘re-constructed’ religious systems in particular. Usually, this means revealing allegedly forgotten ancient meanings of indigenous customs, rituals and folklore texts through the use of various concepts taken from esotericism and/or practical psychology. The language for this re-description is provided by conceptual apparatus developed by New Age movements. Of particular interest in this respect is the language of ‘new science’, ‘alternative history’, ‘transpersonal psychology’, etc., employed as a tool for criticising the established system of Christian-centric understanding of what religion is and what its social functions are.

Native Title as Displaced Mediator

This article considers how native title is a legal manifestation of settler colonialism that operates as a displaced mediator. Using native title cases from Australia and elsewhere, this article argues that native title displaces Indigenous laws, customs, and practices in constructing native title holders as ‘traditional’ to mediate their integration into the so-called ‘modern’ nation. Legal processes construct native title and then retroactively posit that these legal constructions pre-exist the Crown’s acquisition of sovereignty. This provides legal support for the Crown’s acquisition of sovereignty and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who assert native title claims become subjects who aver and reproduce the myth that the Crown acquired sovereignty over them. Native title displaces more unsettling, decolonising practices but produces the appearance of justice through the production of existential and material benefits for its subjects. Northern Territory v Griffiths (2019) 364 ALR 208 (‘Timber Creek’) demonstrates this.

Rozwój prawa japońskiego od początków państwowości Japonii do rozpoczęcia okresu Edo w 1603 r. Zarys zagadnień

The development of Japanese law from the origins of Japans’s statehood until the beginning of the Edo period in 1603. An outline of issues The article outlines the most important aspects of the Japanese history and legal system until the beginning of Edo period in 1603. The work emphasizes and discusses the essential historical context and its effects on changing the Japanese legal system. This paper focuses on the specific conditions under which Japanese law was developed and on the influence of Chinese culture on the shaping of Japanese legal thought before the 17th century. The work includes the distinction of the most important legal acts and implemented changes. It is an approach to better understand Japanese law in a historical context and the development of indigenous culture, customs, and beliefs.

Decolonising theatre and ensemble training in Aotearoa/New Zealand: Te Rākau Hua o Te Wao Tapu Theatre

This article discusses the work of Māori theatre company Te Rākau Hua o Te Wao Tapu, and its approach to decolonising theatre in Aotearoa/New Zealand through its Theatre Marae programme. First, I locate the establishment of Te Rākau and Theatre Marae as a response to Māori being excluded from mainstream theatre, then present a summary of Te Rākau’s contribution to the development of contemporary Māori theatre, theatre-in-education and applied community theatre over the past thirty years. Finally, I describe the core processes of Te Rākau’s Theatre Marae programme as an example of embedding Indigenous customs and philosophy in the ensemble as a decolonising strategy in actor training.

From Indigenous Customary Law to Diasporic Cultural Heritage: Reappropriations of Adat Throughout the History of Moluccan Postcolonial Migration

Adat is originally an Arabic term meaning “custom” or “habit”, and was introduced by Islamic merchants in Maluku and throughout the Indonesian archipelago from the 1200s onward. The term was used as a way to refer to indigenous customs that could not be incorporated into Islamic law. Therefore, rather than referring to a particular system of customs or laws, adat denoted Islamic law’s indeterminate opposite: i.e. the wide variety of indigenous practices which, other than this generalizing label of “custom”, remained undefined. Throughout the chapter, I will trace the development of this term from its original usage to its current-day reinterpretation as a form of diasporic cultural heritage by the Moluccan postcolonial migrant community in the Netherlands. As will become clear, the contemporary Moluccan application can be understood as a strategic reappropriation of the term for the construction of their collective identity, which leaves intact the term’s original capacity of having no fixed definition. By placing the Moluccan application of adat within the historical context of their separatist ideology vis-à-vis Indonesia, and their migration to the Netherlands in the early 1950s, I will argue that their reappropriation of adat as a deliberately indefinable form of Moluccan cultural heritage can be understood as a way for them to protect their collective identity as a separatist people from becoming a matter of wider contestation.