Multi-ethnic Region Research Articles

ETHNOMUSICAL TRADITIONS IN THE STRUCTURE OF CULTURAL IDENTITY PEOPLE OF DAGESTAN

In the layered structure of the peoples of Dagestan identities play a special role Ethnomusical tradition. If instrumental music can be noted ethnoculture environmental, safety in a multi-ethnic region, the art song is in the dynamics and was less stable in the transformation taking place in the field of music. In the space of the sacred-religious music genre took the crystallization of new phenomena Mawlid, the songs in the ritual of dhikr, nasheed. A proportion of the closed ethnic culture, providing her safety, due to the priority role of tradition in the culture of indigenous peoples of Dagestan.

Increasing Heart Donation: Results of a Multi-Ethnic Population-Based Survey from Turkey

Purpose Organ donation (OD) rates remain low worldwide, particularly in the eastern world. Attempts to increase OD rates have ranged from public awareness campaigns to financial incentives. We sought to examine the attitudes and potential ways to increase heart donation in this multi-ethnic region. Methods and Materials A web-based survey was administered to 3639 healthcare professionals (HP) and members of the public aged 18-64 throughout Turkey. 32 questions were asked addressing attitudes on OD,including if respondents would donate, strategies to increase OD and response to the use of incentives. Of those invited to respond, 34.4% completed the survey. Results Amongst respondents, 22% were HP,52% were women, 45% were between 25-35 years, and 69% were university graduates. 94% of participants supported organ donation and 93% would carry out the wishes of a family member with an organ donor card. However, only 37% were willing to donate, and 64% would consent for donation of a family member without a card. 77% believed family consultation should not be required if the donor had a signed donor card. Across all respondents 10% were against and 18% had no information on heart donation, and 11% believed OD is not permissible by their religion. 22% believed that people could recover from brain death. Presumed consent was acceptable to 63%, with 78% identifying it as a way to increase donation. Improved public education was identified by 53% as the single best way to increase donation. 60% believe religious leaders should be involved. 50% supported indirect compensation (donor hospital expenses forgiveness, funeral expenses, etc.); 52% supported direct incentives such as life insurance provisions. Conclusions Despite the high number of highly educated respondents, this survey still indicates a profound need for educational campaigns to increase the awareness of the public as well as HP,particularly with the support and involvement of religious and cultural leaders,in order to dramatically increase OD rates in Eurasia.

The Suicide Rates in the Yunnan Province, a Multi-Ethnic Province in Southwestern China

Previous research has shown a high rate and a unique pattern of suicide in China. We aim to present the current suicide rates and patterns in the Yunnan province, a multi-ethnic region in Southwestern China. This is a descriptive study based on the 3rd Chinese national mortality survey. We reported the suicide rates by sex, 5-year age group, region (urban or rural), and minority group from 2004 to 2005 in the Yunnan province. We estimated a mean annual suicide rate of 19.82 per 100,000 and a total of 8751 suicide deaths per year. Sex-specific rate estimates were 21.09 per 100,000 and 18.46 per 100,000 for males and females, respectively. The male/female ratio was 1.14. Region-specific rate estimates were 20.60 per 100,000 and 19.18 per 100,000 for rural and urban regions, respectively. The rural-to-urban ratio was 1.07. Suicide accounted for 4.83% of all deaths in the Yunnan province and represented the fifth leading cause of death. In minority groups, the highest suicide rates were found in the Li su minority (50.75 per 100,000), the Jing po minority (36.38 per 100,000), the Meng gu minority (32.65 per 100,000) and the Miao minority (30.75 per 100,000). The lowest rates were found in the Hui minority (0.96 per 100,000) and the Ha ni minority (1.64 per 100,000). The suicide characteristics of this multi-ethnic region of China are different from those of the rest of China and the world, which indicates that the development of a special intervention strategy in multi-ethnic areas for suicide prevention is needed.

La política por los espiritus: escenarios multiculturales en "zonas de contacto" (Valle de Cauca, Colombia)

Basado en una reciente investigacion etnografica entre los Embera-Chami de la région plurietnica del Valle del Cauca (Colombia) el examen de escenarios de encuentros interénicos encuadrados por la legislacion multicultural permite vislumbrar la paradojica interdependencia entre la institucionalizacion de un concepto culturalista singularizante de "la" cultura y la homogeneizacion politica de los grupos etnicos. La "estatizacion" de las relaciones inter-étnicas, concomitante a la competicion por la visibilidad, entre grupos de igual estatus en la legislacion nacional e internacional aparecen como dimensiones emergentes del campo interétnico, mientras que se confirma el papel performativo de la ritualizacion en la circulacion y la apropriacion de discursos y practicas. Los escenarios descritos que corresponden a múltiples situaciones semejantes evidencian también que la apropiación multidireccional y uso contextual de conceptos genéricos provenientes del espacio académico, nacional e internacional - como "médico tradicional", "derecho ancestral", "reforzamiento cultural", o "chamanismo" - construyen campos de paradojas. Permiten a los actores étnicos de construir y visibilizar una singularidad cultural aislacionista conforme al concepto oficializado de "cultura" pero al mismo tiempo empujan a una mayor apertura de las "zonas de contacto" interétnicas donde circulan una mayor variedad de prácticas y discursos que antes de la institucionalización del multiculturalismo.

Law and Empire in Late Tsarist Russia: Muslim Tatars Go to Court

This article combines an investigation of legal practice in late tsarist Russia with an analysis of imperial rule. The Judicial Reform of 1864 introduced new legal principles, institutions, and rules of court procedure into the empire. Focusing on legal interaction in the newly established circuit courts in Crimea and Kazan, this article explores the implications of Tatar legal involvement in state courts for both the empire's legal reform process and its policies toward ethnic and religious minorities. It discusses the courts as tools for the integration of these multiethnic regions with the imperial center and shows how legal unification developed in a context of dynamic, and locally specific, plural legal orders. It concludes that minority policies were characterized by the simultaneous pursuit of integration and the promotion of difference. The article draws mainly on court records from Kazan and Simferopol (Crimea), newspaper coverage, and on the reports and memoirs of jurists.

“TO EACH THEIR OWN PLACE” Ethnicized Memories and Inter-Ethnic Practices in the Sub-Carpathian Hungarian Social World

The socio-cultural network and strategies of Hungarian villages and towns in the sub-Carpathian region are characterized by an increasing tension between the political reinforcement of cultural boundaries with other regional groups and the growing economic importance of informal interethnic relations. The articulation of contrastive political ethnicity with the local social sphere lies in the local memory of collective deportation of Hungarian speakers in 1945 by the Soviet regime that is ritualized by commemorative monuments and events. Yet the diverse forms of inter-ethnic solidarity and co-operation are interwoven with and simultaneously effective in the fields of trade, exchange, smuggling, and temporary migrations across the border. Thus the ethnography of multiethnic regions on the margins of diverse national spaces susceptible to international dispute calls attention to the paradoxical inter-dependence between the durability of political ethnicities relying on the permanence of inter-ethnic solidarities and co-operation.

Comparative Performance of Electrochemiluminescence Immunoassay and EIA for HIV Screening in a Multiethnic Region of China

BackgroundThe recent approval of 4th generation HIV tests has forced many laboratories to decide whether to shift from 3rd to these tests. There are limited published studies on the comparative evaluation of these two different assays. We compare the performance of fourth-generation electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ChIA) and third-generation enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (EIA) for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening and gauge whether the shift from EIA to ChIA could be better in a multiethnic region of China.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe identified a large number of routine specimens (345,492) using two different assays from Jan 2008 to Aug 2011 in a teaching hospital with high sample throughput. Of the 344,596 specimens with interpretable HIV test results, 526(0.23%) of 228,761 using EIA and 303(0.26%) of 115,835 using ChIA were HIV-1 positive. The false-positive rate of EIA was lower than that of ChIA [0.03% vs. 0.08%, odds ratio 0.33 (95% confidence interval 0.24, 0.45)]. The positive predictive value (PPV) of EIA (89.6%) was significantly higher than that of ChIA (76.1%) (<0.001), reflecting the difference between the two assays. The clinical sensitivities of two assays in this study were 99.64% for EIA and 99.88% for ChIA.ConclusionCaution is needed before shifting from 3rd to 4th generation HIV tests. Since none of these tests are perfect, different geographic and ethnic area probably require different considerations with regard to HIV testing methods, taking into account the local conditions.

From princely fiefdoms to Soviet nations: interethnic border conflicts in the North Caucasus and the village of Lesken

This article examines interethnic border conflicts that accompanied the Soviet division of the North Caucasus into ethno-territorial autonomous districts after the Civil War. It traces the tumultuous, and often violent, events that led to the transfer of the ethnically Ossetian village of Lesken from the Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous Oblast to the North-Ossetian Autonomous Oblast. The essay shows how the Soviet-sponsored ethnicization of territory exacerbated interethnic tensions in a multiethnic region that defied neat delimitation into coherent ethno-national administrative units. It highlights the ‘dual-assimilation’ that accompanied the introduction of the national principle and the delimitation of national borders. Ethno-national mobilization of populations in defence of their ‘national’ territory from neighbouring ethnic groups, though achieved for reasons of daily survival, represented an initial lesson in the importance of national identity in the modernizing Soviet state, as villagers learned to speak national and Bolshevik. In concluding, this paper seeks to understand the larger significance of Soviet border making in the North Caucasus by exploring issues of continuity and change, both in terms of imperial governance and the lived experience of ethnicity.

Mapping regional structures as outlined and produced by a system of marriage ties

Kalotaszeg is a famous historic and ethnographic region in Transylvania (Romania) consisting of approximately 35–40 village communities. The region has raised considerable scholarly interest since its early discovery at the end of the 19th century. A constantly reoccurring focus of studies has been to outline the structure of the region. Although it was not our primary concern, when we started our social anthropology fi eldwork at the beginning of the 1990s we soon encountered the problematic issue of how to delineate the external and internal boundaries around and within this multi-ethnic and multi-religious region and how to grasp in-group and out-group relations with a special regard to the context of socio-historical structure of the population in the area. We wanted to understand what kinds of diachronic and synchronic factors stood behind the formation of various networks of human connection interpreted as regional structures.

Multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis in multi-ethnic region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.

BackgroundThe multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis (TB) has emerged as a global threat. Xinjiang is a multi-ethnic region and suffered second highest incidence of TB in China. However, epidemiological information on MDR and XDR TB is scarcely investigated.Methodology/Principal FindingsA prospective study was conducted to analyze the prevalence of MDR and XDR TB and the differences of drug resistance TB between Chinese Han and other nationalities population at Chest Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. We performed in vitro drug susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to first- and second-line anti-tuberculosis drugs for all 1893 culture confirmed positive TB cases that were diagnosed between June 2009 and June 2011. Totally 1117 (59.0%, 95% CI, 56.8%–61.2%) clinical isolates were resistant to ≥1 first-line drugs; the prevalence of MDR TB was 13.2% (95% CI, 11.7%–14.7%), of which, 77 (30.8%; 95% CI, 25.0%–36.6%) and 31 (12.8%; 95% CI, 8.6%–17.0%) isolates were pre-XDR and XDR TB respectively. Among the MDR/XDR TB, Chinese Han patients were significantly less likely to be younger with an odds ratio 0.42 for age 20–29 years and 0.52 for age 40–49 years; P trend = 0.004), and Chinese Han patients has a lower prevalence of XDR TB (9.6%) than all the other nationality (14.9%).Conclusions/SignificanceThe burden of drug resistance TB cases is sizeable, which highlights an urgent need to reinforce the control, detection and treatment strategies for drug resistance TB. However, the difference of MDR and XDR TB between Chinese Han and other nationalities was not observed.

Ethnic Differences in Survival after Breast Cancer in South East Asia

BackgroundThe burden of breast cancer in Asia is escalating. We evaluated the impact of ethnicity on survival after breast cancer in the multi-ethnic region of South East Asia.Methodology/Principal FindingsUsing the Singapore-Malaysia hospital-based breast cancer registry, we analyzed the association between ethnicity and mortality following breast cancer in 5,264 patients diagnosed between 1990 and 2007 (Chinese: 71.6%, Malay: 18.4%, Indian: 10.0%). We compared survival rates between ethnic groups and calculated adjusted hazard ratios (HR) to estimate the independent effect of ethnicity on survival. Malays (n = 968) presented at a significantly younger age, with larger tumors, and at later stages than the Chinese and Indians. Malays were also more likely to have axillary lymph node metastasis at similar tumor sizes and to have hormone receptor negative and poorly differentiated tumors. Five year overall survival was highest in the Chinese women (75.8%; 95%CI: 74.4%–77.3%) followed by Indians (68.0%; 95%CI: 63.8%–72.2%), and Malays (58.5%; 95%CI: 55.2%–61.7%). Compared to the Chinese, Malay ethnicity was associated with significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 1.34; 95%CI: 1.19–1.51), independent of age, stage, tumor characteristics and treatment. Indian ethnicity was not significantly associated with risk of mortality after breast cancer compared to the Chinese (HR: 1.14; 95%CI: 0.98–1.34).ConclusionIn South East Asia, Malay ethnicity is independently associated with poorer survival after breast cancer. Research into underlying reasons, potentially including variations in tumor biology, psychosocial factors, treatment responsiveness and lifestyle after diagnosis, is warranted.

Differential Reproductive Success in the Historic Populations of Sandžak

The Balkan region is in a state of instability in the aftermath of Kosovo's independence, vulnerable to both inter- and intra-ethnic conflicts. Native Muslim populations in the Balkans continue to grow much more rapidly than non-Muslims. This paper attempts to assess maternal descendant-leaving success in 120 Muslim and Christian Orthodox women born between 1880 and 1924 in the Serbian multiethnic region of Sandzak. Differential fertility among ethnic groups is linked to the differences in religious affiliation. The paper will try to answer questions about the impacts of particular political and economic conditions on reproductive and lineage success for the two populations.Key Words: Balkans; Differential reproduction; Muslims; Christians; Sandzak; Serbia.Worldwide, religiosity-fertility links are a near-universal characteristic of today's cultures (Kaufmann 2008). In particular, individuals inclining to dogmatic and traditional religious beliefs out-reproduce those with more secular worldviews. Differential fertility among ethnic groups is linked to the differences in religious affiliation (Cvorovic 2012). Demography appears to be important for the historical rise and decline of religions because more than most other cultural traits, religion is transmitted within families (Steadman and Palmer 2008). The ability of traditional religious beliefs, values and behaviors to be repeatedly transmitted from ancestors to descendants enables them to influence the descendant-leaving success of individuals over many generations (Steadman and Palmer 1997). For instance, recent demographic reports indicate that native Muslim populations in the Balkans continue to grow much more rapidly than non-Muslims (Kettani 2010).An application of evolutionary theory to demographic data and human life history offers insights not only into the past, but also into modern problems, both large scale and urgent (Clarke and Low 2001, Wilson 1999). This paper attempts to assess maternal descendant leaving success of 120 women (52 Muslims and 68 Christian Orthodox) born between 1880 and 1924 in the Serbian southern region of Sandzak. Sandzak is a multi-ethnic region, a largely mountainous border area between Serbia and Montenegro, bordering Kosovo to the south-east and Bosnia and Herzegovina to the west, containing the largest concentration of Serbian Muslims, recognized as Bosniacs. At present, as in the past, Sandzak remains vulnerable to both inter- and intra-ethnic conflicts. Re-affirmations of national identity and presence by Christian Orthodox Serb and Muslim-Bosniac ethnic groups, mainly with respect to religion and language, threaten to prompt future resentment. In fact, the Balkan region is in a state of instability in the aftermath of Kosovo's independence, and thus areas of potential flux such as the Sandzak should be monitored closely (Morrison 2008:1).Vanhanen (1999) argued that ethnic conflict may appear by the mere existence of ethnic diversity, regardless of governmental style or policies. For instance, in the former Yugoslavia, ethnic competition and subsequent violence marked the past. In a multi-ethnic society, competition may include warfare between different ethnic groups over territory. Control of territory traditionally facilitated reproduction and development of cultural and economic traditions, hence the benefit of ethnic control is obvious - it aids a particular group to carry on its genes and traditions into subsequent generations (Cvorovic 2004). The problem of changing composition of the population along ethnic and regional lines was crucial in the Balkan crisis (Apostolov 2010).In the Yugoslav federation, built after the Second World War, ethnic conflicts were suppressed by the communist dictatorship. However, the federal state establishment also created the conditions for separation of the neighboring ethnic groups and creation of new ethnic identities which, along with changing population growth rates, inevitably led to conflict. …

The 1926/27 Soviet polar census expeditions

List of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgments Note on Cyrillic Transliteration Chapter 1. The Polar Census and the Architecture of Enumeration David G. Anderson Chapter 2. Seasonal Mobility and Sacred Landscape Geography among Northern Hunter-Gatherer Peter Jordan Chapter 3. The Interpretation of Nenets Demography in the First Third of the 20th Century Elena Volzhanina Chapter 4. Undaunted Courage: the Polar Census in the Obdor Region Elena Glavatskaya Chapter 5. Household Structure in the Multi-Ethnic Barents Region - A Local Case Study Gunnar Thorvaldsen Chapter 6. Statistical Surveys of the Kanin Peninsula and the Samoed Question Igor Semenov Chapter 7. The Sustaining Landscape and the Arctic Fox Trade in the European North of Russia 1926-1927 Konstantin Klokov Chapter 8. The Origin of Reindeer Herding as 'Sector' on the Kanin Peninsula Stanislav Kiselev Chapter 9. The Spatial Demography of the 'Outer Taiga' of the Zhuia River Valley, Eastern Siberia David Anderson, Evgenii Ineshin, John Ziker Chapter 10. Identity, Status, and Fish among Essei Iakuts Tatiana Argounova-Low Chapter 11. Subsistence and Residence in the Putoran Uplands and Taimyr Lowlands John Ziker Appendices Appendix I:The Manuscript Archives of the Polar Census Expeditions Appendix II: Table of Measures Bibliographic and Archival References Notes on the Contributors

Between Friends and Enemies: The Dynamics of Interethnic Relations in Amazonian Ecuador

This article examines the shifting nature of interethnic relations between two indigenous groups in Amazonian Ecuador, the Curaray River group of lowland Kichwa and the neighboring Waorani of the Curaray region. Waorani and Curaray Kichwa interaction from the 1930s to the present reveals a pattern marked by oscillations between hostilities and cautious friendship. These shifts are expressed in varied social relations described in the anthropological and historical scholarship on Amazonia, ranging from shamanic attack to marriage alliances. The paper explores this history and its linkage to wider social changes in the region brought about by Protestant evangelization and international economic interests. Our ethnographic analysis points to the maintenance of extended family linkages between Kichwa and Waorani in the Curaray River region as nodal relationships that potentiate shifts from hostilities to friendship between the two indigenous groups. These shifts occur within a regional interaction sphere that is bound together by extended family ties between specific household groups. By examining these relations through the lenses of both Waorani and Curaray Kichwa ethnography and of historical processes extending back almost a century, the article provides insights into a complex sociality involving distinct indigenous peoples across a multiethnic region of the Western Amazon.

Schematic Rock Art, Rain-Making and Islam in the Ethio-Sudanese Borderlands

Two sites with schematic rock paintings in Western Ethiopia, where Islamic ceremonies connected with rain-making are performed and miraculous events are said to occur regularly, are interpreted in the light of such factors as the beliefs of local informants, the Islamic appropriation of prehistoric rituals in Northern Africa, the characteristics of similar sites linked to rain-making rituals throughout Eastern Africa and the apotropaic meaning of schematic marks in many traditional cultures. Probably painted by the ancestors of the current Koman language speakers during the Later Stone Age or shortly afterwards, the rock art contextual analysis reveals the complexity of interregional relationships and processes affecting the multi-ethnic frontier regions in pre-colonial times and shows how the local groups have recombined prehistoric and historic religions and ideologies into an original mix that bears witness to the region’s multifaceted history.

Between Czechs and Hungarians: Constructing the Slovak National Identity from 19th Century to the Present

Over the entire existence of the Slovak historical science, the formation of Slovak ‘national consciousness’ has been always considered a research topic of great importance. It is a quite typical phenomenon in the region of Central Europe, characterized by a complex, delicate, and constantly changing intersection of political, ethnic, national, linguistic, religious, cultural borders, and contexts, producing various competing collective identities. This article outlines this process in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious region. It shows how the concept of national identity was influenced by various loyalties, pragmatic political decisions, and ideological concepts. The idea of Slovak national identity was defined mainly in confrontation with Czech and Hungarian visions and concepts. It was shaped in the process of mutual correlation with other collective identities and also by its impact on the wide segments of population in the process of ‘national emancipation’.

Transmission of leprosy in Qiubei County, Yunnan, China: Insights from an 8-year molecular epidemiology investigation

Leprosy continues to be endemic in parts of China. To track the occurrence of leprosy and determine at risk communities, molecular strain typing based on variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs) was applied in Qiubei County, Wenshan Prefecture, Yunnan Province of the People's Republic of China, a multiethnic region that is home to four predominant ethnic minorities. A previous study, conducted between 2002 and 2005, provided the first descriptions of Mycobacterium leprae strains in the region. M. leprae strains in Qiubei are highly conserved, so only sufficiently polymorphic loci can distinguish strains. A balance between mutation rate and loci stability is needed, so that secondary transmissions can be identified as genotypic matches. The long incubation period of leprosy necessitated an extension of the study to assess the validity of VNTR typing and observe allelic shifts in the same multiethnic population. From 2006 to early 2010 the extension was performed to yield a cumulative total of 164 enrolled patients and 130 skin samples suitable for VNTR typing. Patient demographic information revealed that the case detection rate among certain minority populations in the county is considerably higher than the national rate. Cluster analysis of allele frequencies showed similar strain types within family groups and neighboring townships. Allele frequencies were not found to significantly differ between genders or clinical presentations. The percentage of cases showing near-matching genotypes varied with geography; showing a considerably higher rate in the northern townships. The northern townships continue to show strain types falling into the groups previously defined. Southern genotypes were distinct from those in the north, but clonal genetic relationships were indiscernible in the south. Social interactions and the physical, residential and occupational environments may be more conducive to transmission of community strains in the north.

THE OPEN LETTERS OF SERGEI BORISOV: FROM THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE ALTAI

The present study focuses on the biography and artistic heritage of S.I. Borisov, one of Barnaul's most successful photographers of the early 20th century. Borisov's archive is kept at the Altai State Museum of Local Studies and includes materials from his photographical expeditions to the Altai in 1907–1914. The analysis of the photographs given here creates an image of this multiethnic region as it was at that time in all its diversity of culture and tradition.

The comparative study of dwelling houses in the southwest multi-ethnic region, taking Fugong county for example

A number of ethnic minorities are being distributed in southwest China. Yunnan Province is an area inhabited by multi-ethnic groups. For a long time, the ethnic groups have been interacted by others in the cultural aspect, while retaining their own ethnic traditions. The performances of ethnic groups’ dwelling houses are similar as determined by natural and cultural elements of the same area. This paper mainly analyzes decisive factors behind similar appearances by the way of field research on two minorities, Nu ethnic group and Li-su ethnic group, in the Fugong county, Nujiang Li-su autonomous prefecture. Moreover, the paper tries to summarize the commonality and individuality of the minorities in order to provide useful theoretical reference for the minorities building of new socialist countryside in the future.

Introduction: Aftershocks: Violence in Dissolving Empires after the First World War

AbstractThis special issue deals with the phenomenon of the emergence of radical violence in what might be called ‘shatter zones’ of empires after the end of the First World War. It argues that the emergence of violence was due to the absence of functioning state control and facilitated by the effects of experiencing mass violence during the First World War. In the multi-ethnic regions of the former empires, the rising wave of nationalism directed this violent potential against ethnic and religious minorities.