Nomadic Communities Research Articles

Male Involvement in Birth Preparedness through Health Facility Community Dialogue in Kajiado County- Kenya

Birth preparedness enhances readiness to handle pregnancy complications and probable delays experienced in seeking obstetric care. Male partners in the society are key influencers of maternal health outcome due to their financial power and cultural endowment that male figures command in the society hence impact on birth preparedness. In Kenya, there is limited data on male involvement in birth preparedness through health facility community dialogue. The study thematic area explored the influence of male partner factors on birth preparedness through health facility community dialogue in Kajiado County- Kenya. The study employed explorative-descriptive qualitative research design. The target population was households with male partners/spouses, married men who had children aged 0-2 years, aged 18 years and above. The study concluded that male partner perception, level of education, age at marriage, communication among partners and economic status had negatively influenced male partner involvement in birth preparedness. The study recommended that the County Government of Kajiado to come up with community engagement forums to dialogue with the community on birth preparedness through open maternity day forums and change the male perception on birth preparedness. The study also recommended that the Ministry of Education to empower the boy child by retention in school, the way it has system in place to track the status of the girl child in school for nomadic communities, this will avert early school dropout that leads to early marriages and high index of poverty levels. Finally, the male partners should foster communication between spouses to improve on pregnancy outcome. Keywords: Male Involvement, Birth Preparedness, Health Facility Community Dialogue

Göçer Kültürün Oluşumunda Çevresel ve Kültürel Dinamikler

Many cultural assets unearthed in archaeological excavations, elements that make up the culture of the settled communities such as technology, art, economy and, if any, can be revealed through written sources. However, in the case of nomadic communities, there is a prejudice that temporary shelters made of lightweight materials are “invisible communities” defined by only a small number of material items available for transportation. As a result of these prejudices, the nomadic culture has been tried to be understood either through negative elements in the settlements, written sources written by the settlers, or through ethnoarchaeological research. In the Archeology Department of Atatürk University Social Sciences Institute, under the supervision of Proffesor Dr Mehmet Işıklı, the "Archaeological Evidence of Nomadic Culture in the Southeast Anatolian Region: An Ethnoarchaeological Study" one of the important questions encountered during the studies carried out within the scope of the doctoral thesis titled " to what extent modern nomadic communities will reflect the cultures of the ancient period" has been.
 In this article, the question "what is culture" was chosen as the first step to start looking for answers to all these unknowns and questions, within the framework of the great transformations of humanity in the transition to a production economy, the elements that make up the culture were examined, and the elements of culture were discussed through the answers given by different scientists to this question.

TAŞKENT BÖLGESİNİN DAĞLIK ARAZİSİNDE BULUNAN GÖKTÜRK KAĞANLIĞI’NA AİT SÜNGEK MEZAR KURGANLARI HAKKINDA YAPILAN ÇALIŞMALAR

Makalede Özbekistan’ın Taşkent vilayetine bağlı Çarvak su barajı kıyılarında bulunan Batı Göktürk Kağanlığı dönemine ait Süngek mezarında sürdürülen arekolojik kazı çalışmaları ve burada elde edilen bilimsel sonuçlardan bahsedilmektedir. 2019 yılından beri gerçekleştirilmekte olan arkeolojik kazılarda elde edilen buluntular diğer iskan yerlerindeki buluntular ve ölü gömme gelenekleriyle karşilaştirilmiş ve genel benzerliklerin yanı sıra adı geçen mezarıdakı kendine özgülükler tespit edilmiştir. Adı geçen mezarlıkta insan ve hayvan kemikleriyle birlikte çeşitli biçimlerdeki seramik kaplar, demir yapımı çeşitli eşyalar ve iş aletleri bulunmuştur. Mezarlardaki insan kemikleri, özellikle insan kafatası üzerinde alınan ölçüler, bazı insan kemiklerinin bulundurulduğu yön ve tas kemiğinin durumu, cins ayırımına dikkat edilmiştir. Merhumların yaşını belirtirken de onların baş kemiklerdeki yarıkların kapanış derecesi, dişlerin yıpranması ve kemik boğumlarının oluşum sahfaları göz önünde bulundurulmuştur. Süngek’te elde edilen buluntular, Göktürk Kağanlığı dönemine ait yerel ölü gömme gelenekleri ve yerleşkenin bulunduğu bölge ahalisiniin iktisadî ve sosyal yaşam tarzı üzerine durulmaktadır. Süngek mezarının sakinleri yerel kültür elemanlarını kendinde barındıran hayvancılıkla uğraşan göçebe toplumların Eski Türk dönemine özgü yadıgarlıklar grubuna dahildirler. Mezarnın sahipleri komşu bölgeler: Çırçık – Ahengeran vadisi, Güney Kazakistan, Talas, Farğana ve Yedisu bölgelerinin sakinleriyle sıkı ilişkilerde bulunduğu anlaşılmaktadır. Süngek mezar kurganlarından elde edilen yeni buluntular, Orta Asya topraklarının miladi birinci binyıllığı ortalarında yaşayan toplumların kültürü ve tarihininin oldukça güncel ve aynı zamanda tartışmalı olan Kavunçı kültürünün historiografisi, Çırçık vadisi yukarı havzasının Erken orta çağlar döneminin etnik yapısı, hayvancı göçebe toplulukların ölü gömme gelenekleri ve dinî dünya bakış açıları gibi meselelerin incelenmesi için kaynak görevini yapacağı anlaşılmaktadır. Adı geçen tarihlerde Avrasya bozkırlarında olup biten migrasyon süreçlerinin incelenmesi ve daha anlaşılır olması yüzünden Süngek mezarı ve benzerlerinin ileride daha derin incelnemesi gerekmektedir.

Literature for a Changing Planet by Martin Puchner

Reviewed by: Literature for a Changing Planet by Martin Puchner Greg Brown Martin Puchner Literature for a Changing Planet Princeton. Princeton University Press. 2022. 160 pages. martin puchner's Literature for a Changing Planet is an urgent call for rereading the stories that have shaped our world. Human beings have reached a point of tremendous environmental influence, collectively. Our actions will shape the biosphere from here on. The humanities play a vital role in the way we see the planet, but without a clear vision, which history and literature can provide, we will meet the coming dangers blindly. Puchner argues there is value in reading world literature ecologically from literally the beginning: The Epic of Gilgamesh. From this most ancient text, he draws familiar themes of civilization versus wilderness. Anyone familiar with the work will remember the praise of civilization's values, the equation of wandering and exile with grief, and the seduction of the wild man, Enkidu, into society. Tracing the interaction between the built and wild environments across "a number of foundational epics," Puchner next moves to the Odyssey's famous scene: Odysseus's defeat of the cyclops Polyphemus. Once again, the text contrasts and praises the Greeks' settled ways of life with the different, uncivilized manners of the giants. Puchner highlights the rhetorical purpose of Odysseus's tale, told as it is to a court upon whose graces he depends. These stories of civilization versus the wilderness persist across times and cultures. Consistent with his global focus, Puchner turns to another origin of literacy, Mayan literature. An independent invention of writing, so rare and nearly obliterated as to be virtually unknown compared to readers familiar with Odysseus or even Gilgamesh, "the Popol Vuh includes an account of the creation of humans" completely separate from that of Mesopotamia. There are intriguing differences, such as how the reverence for clay in brick-making Uruk is absent in the Popol Vuh, written by a culture that worked in stone. Yet this elaborate epic of Mesoamerica arrives at similar themes regarding the value of settled life and reverence of the staple crops of its region, just as The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Odyssey do. The centrality of resource extraction to urban societies' most basic stories repeats across space and time, independently. Puchner argues that this reveals something fundamental. At this point, Literature for a Changing Planet introduces one of its most challenging assertions: writing is deeply complicit in resource-extractive ways of living. The ancient texts of the world arise from settled ways of life; they facilitate the organization of labor and participate in empire-building; they defend their societies from outside forces, including those humans who were still living in nomadic communities or otherwise at large; and they define the rest of nature as wildernesses. Thus, reading world literature ecologically requires reading it subversively, against its grain. This assertion remains central to Puchner's argument and culminates in "a reading protocol" of seven principles "[drawing] on the insights of both [world literature and ecocriticism]." These principles range from bearing in mind that we are reading works in "a medium that is complicit with, and therefore most likely defensive of, settled life and the resource extraction required to sustain it" to recalling that "neither the canons of world literature nor world literature anthologies are neutral tools." Puchner insists that the complicity of literature with the causes of climate [End Page 76] crises is not a reason to discard it, but rather to read it carefully and to make room for orality as well as written literature. Literature for a Changing Planet places the invention of world literature in Weimar, January 31, 1827, when Goethe is reported to have said "the era of world literature is at hand." The forces of industrialization, colonization, and incipient globalization make this moment possible, having put into Goethe's hands literature from across the globe. This fact complicates Puchner's praise of world literature as having a greater chance of healing nature than narrow nationalist literatures. It seems at first glance to be a paradox, just as the complicity of writing itself undermines its ability to address the problem. After all, farmer and philosopher Wendell...

SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR OF NOMADS

This research is carried out among nomadic societies. The objectives of this research were to study socio economic characteristics of nomads, with main focus on explaining the socio cultural factors and their effects on the reproductive behaviors of nomadic communities. Researchers interviewed 150 nomads who were selected as sample by using Purposive sampling technique. “Life history theory” and “Malthus theory of population” are used as theoretical framework. Results showed that nomadic reproductive behavior is highly affected by socio cultural factors like illiteracy, son preference, early marriages, forced marriages, tribal customs, and lack of health care facilities. It is concluded that socio cultural factors are responsible for the poor reproductive behavior of nomads in Pakistan. Findings also indicated that number of reproductive complications occurred among pregnant nomadic women due to inadequate health facilities, socio-cultural and demographic barriers which restricted them to use maternity services Keywords Nomads, reproductive behavior, socio cultural factors, health, women

Praviteli i islam v Zolotoj Orde: po materialam timuridskih istochnikov pervoj poloviny XV v.

The article examines the process of Islamization in the Golden Horde based on materials from Timurid historiography of the first half of the 15 th century. The historical writings of Mu’in al-Din Natanzi, Mirza Ulugbek, Fasikh Ahmad al-Khawafi, and Kamal al-Din Abd al-Razzak Samarkandi and others allow us to research the role of the rulers of Ulus Jochi in the spread of Islam in the Eurasian steppes. Timurid sources note that Berke khan, Uzbek khan, Janibek khan, and Urus khan made the greatest contribution to strengthening the positions of the Muslim faith in a nomadic community.

Knowledge and practices surrounding malaria and LLIN use among Arab, Dazagada and Fulani pastoral nomads in Chad.

Chadian pastoral nomads are highly exposed to malaria due to their lifestyle and their mobility between various endemic areas. To inform strategies to reduce nomads' risk of malaria and associated morbidity and mortality, it is important to understand the factors associated to their knowledge of malaria transmission and prevention practices. A cross-sectional study among Arab, Dazagada and Fulani pastoral nomadic groups was conducted in February and October 2021. A validated structured electronic questionnaire was administered to assess knowledge of malaria. Attitudes and malaria prevention practices were assessed on the basis of perception of the causes of malaria and the use of a long-lasting insecticide-treated net (LLIN) the day before the survey. Data were analyzed using Chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression with covariates adjustment. A total of 278 nomads aged 20 to 65 years were included in the study. Overall, 90.7% of participants surveyed had a good knowledge of malaria. Fulani respondents were more likely to have a good knowledge of malaria than Arab respondents (Adjusted Odd ratio (AOR): 5.00, 95% CI: 1.04-24.03) and households possessing a LLIN were more likely to have a good knowledge of malaria (AOR: 9.66, 95% CI: 1.24-75.36). Most nomad households surveyed reported sleeping under a mosquito net the night before the survey (87.1%) while 98.9% owned a LLIN. Daza respondents (AOR: 0.23, 95% CI: 0.09-0.56) were less likely to use LLINs than Arab respondents. The middle (AOR: 2.78, 95% CI: 1.17-6.62) and wealthier households (AOR: 6.68, 95% CI: 3.19-14.01) were more likely to use LLINs. Knowledge of malaria was associated with the use of LLIN (AOR: 12.77, 95% CI: 1.58-102.99). There remains a need to improve nomads' understanding of Plasmodium falciparum-carrying mosquitoes as the vector for malaria transmission and the quality of information provided. Knowledge of malaria and its prevention strategies in nomadic setting lead to the use of LLINs. Further reductions in malaria morbidity can be achieved by improving nomads' access to LLINs. This study can inform on the design policies to improve nomadic communities' knowledge of malaria prevention and promoting LLIN use as requested by the national policy against malaria.

IDENTIFYING OUT OF SCHOOL CHILDREN IN PAKISTAN: A POLICY BREACH

Present research article deals with the overall misrepresentation of Out of School Children in Pakistan, because after the analysis of various educational national policies and the five-year educational plans it was observed that there was no particular space available for the children who were not present in the national data base. Due to various reasons so many communities living without national identity cards (NIC). In the research site various families were living without their identification of being the citizen of the country. It was hypothesized that if in capital territory various families were living without any particular identification than how many around the country would have been living under the same circumstances. This hypothetical consideration became the main theme of the present article. Objective of the study was to identify those primary school going age children who were still out of school. Most of them were wandering in the streets and some of them were working in vocational-workshops. Both of these segments were not included in the OOSC data bank. The scenario was hypothetically reproduced upon the nomadic and semi-nomadic communities, and those who were living in far-flung areas, including valleys, pastures, hilly and coastal areas. Movement of these communities reduced the possibility of their inclusion in main database for OOSC. The qualitative research paradigm was used for the present research article. The study was explorative and applied in nature which identified various issues of calculating OOSC and proposed solutions as coping mechanism. Data were collected from two different segments, one from existing educational policies and reports, and the other from native community, stakeholders who were working for the promotion of enrollment rate in primary schools. After the analysis of available educational policies related to OOSC it was found that no homework has ever been done before calculating the number of OOSC in Pakistan. So many modules and tools given by UIS, UNESCO, and UNICEF for the promotion of education at primary level were available, but none of them were ever incorporated in educational policy. The data about the children living under gray-line i.e., semi-visible and invisible were never been gathered which may arise question on the efficiency of the government educational database. Study concluded that if the government wants to publish actual numbers of OOSC which may be more than the existing number in Pakistan for the effective policies, it needs have to include the gray-line children and to make the policies more implementable. Children engaged in vocational-workshops and those who were never enrolled in schools may be included for effective policies. Keywords: OOSC, Visibility Model, Education for All, 18th Amendment, Five Dimensions of Exclusion, 5Des.

Contrasting epidemiology of urogenital schistosomiasis among pastoral communities surrounding three Ramsar wetland in Nigeria.

Suspected changes in the epidemiology of schistosomiasis due to several hybridization reports between human and livestock Schistosoma speciesin Africa calls for epidemiological investigations among potential high-risk groups and sites. Althoughthe use of wetlands for pastoralism has been linked to schistosomiasis, there is limited information on the epidemiology of the disease among pastoralists in Nigeria. In this study, urine samples from 355 participants from pastoral communities settled around three Ramsar wetlands (Wetlands of International Importance) in Nigeria, (Dagona Sanctuary, Maladumba, and Pandam-Wase) were screened for the eggs of Schistosoma haematobium. Only participants in the Dagona Sanctuary were infected with 34.2% prevalence. Macrohematuria was however observed in some individuals at the Dagona Sanctuary wetland (2.5%) and Maladumba (2.8%). Regular praziquantel administration, functional health care facilities and awareness about schistosomiasis were contributory factors to the contrasting epidemiology of the disease among the study population. Schistosomiasis control requires the inclusion of pastoral and nomadic communities in mass drug administration of praziquantel based on a community-directed intervention strategy.

Understanding Identity, Education and Multi-religiosity Among the Nat Tribe of Paschim Champaran in India

Invisible social groups are systematically left out of the process of development and have to make choices that are predetermined. Research suggests that the tribal and nomadic communities have been majorly affected by such processes. Nat, a peripatetic nomadic tribe in India has undergone similar exclusionary process. However, they continue to survive as a social group and maintain their distinguishing character. This study, therefore, is an attempt to understand their survival within the mainstream society by systematically analysing the following sociocultural attributes: identity construction, education and mobility, and multi-religious belonging. The Nat of Paschim Champaran, in the state of Bihar in India, were the focus of the study. Data was collected from 30 respondents and analysed by applying narrative inquiry. The findings suggest that their professional identity as acrobats continues to define their distinctiveness even when a few have chosen to shift towards other forms of livelihood. This distinctiveness continues to negatively influence their access to education and as a result no major change is witnessed in terms of social mobility of the group. However, it is observed that they have intelligently assimilated themselves within the popular culture by adopting multiple identities with respect to religion and which are activated for diverse purposes and at different times.

National Environmental Policy 2013 Adaptation Strategies for Sustainability of Samburu Pastoral Community in Samburu Central Sub-County Kenya

The purpose of this paper is to underscore the importance of environmental policy implementation for sustainable development among the Samburu pastoralist community of Kenya. The need to manage environment in order to reduce loss of biodiversity and the adverse effects of climate variability is the preoccupation of many governments. Adaptation strategies have been suggested by global institutions to protect the rural vulnerable communities, to adapt to climate variability, resourced based conflicts and environmental degradation. Kenyan National Government enacted The National Environmental Policy 2013 to address the management of the ecosystem and sustainable use of natural resources to foster sustainability of especially the vulnerable pastoral and nomadic communities like the Samburu. Existing literature on the implementation of the Government environmental policy 2013 suggests that little has been achieved to find out traditional knowledge of the Samburu people on adaptation strategies on the administration of environment and natural resources for their own sustainability. The study was guided by the following questions: What are the adaptation strategies to loss of bio-diversity among the Samburu pastoral community in Samburu Central Sub-County? How do the Samburu pastoral community manage pasture and water resources for their sustainability? What are the strategies the Samburu people use to enhance food security? The study employed hermeneutic phenomenology qualitative research design. Ecosystem theory was used to guide the study. Both primary and secondary data were used by the study. Primary data was collected using semi-structured questionares, in-depth interviews, written field notes, Focused Group Discussions and recording of the interviews to collect invaluable information from 20 participants composed of Samburu elders (lpayani), morans (Lmuran), women (ntomonok) in Samburu Central Sub-County, Samburu County. Secondary data was collected by reviewing literature from google scholar, jystor, mendeley desktop, online libraries, National and County Government websites to access academic journal articles, books and reports. Purposive sampling technique was used to identify key informers from the Samburu community who participated and have valuable knowledge in the environmental administration and sustainable use of natural resources among the Samburu pastoral community. Ethical consideration was adhered to while conducting research at every stage. Data collected from the field was filtered into themes, coded, interpreted and reported as the main findings. The study found out that the success of the adaptation strategies advocated by the Environmental policy 2013 for sustainability of the Samburu pastoralist community of Kenya depends on how the National and County Government is able to incorporate traditional knowledge of the Samburu people on environmental administration and sustainable use of pasture and water. The fact that the Samburu people have been able to adopt to adverse of loss of bio-diversity, harsh climatic conditions that complicated the management of pasture and water, and diversification of livelihoods to address food insecurity points to the need to integrate traditional knowledge with scientific knowledge. Keywords: Environmental management, National Environmental Policy 2013, Adaptation Strategies, Samburu pastoralist, Sustainability

Manufacturing mandates: Property, race, and the criminalisation of trespass in England and Wales

This paper focuses on a recent public consultation to criminalise trespass in England and Wales. Through an analysis of the consultation discourse and documentary evidence, we argue that the government has used this process to manufacture a mandate for criminalisation. We show how the construction of democratic support has been achieved by: Pre-coding responses in the initial call for evidence; distorting evidence in the response; and utilizing ‘state simplifications’ which foreground hostile and racist sentiments whilst presenting sedentarisation as in the ‘best interests’ of nomadic communities. While the 2018/19 consultation is only the most recent in a long history of civilising offensives against Gypsy-Travellers, as well as other ‘unfixed’ communities, this particular move to criminalise trespass and attack nomadic heritage is also further evidence of the UK government’s steady formalization of property ownership: moving away from considering property ‘use’ on the ground towards an abstracted registration system de-rooted from place. This denies long-standing rights to roam and non-normative modes of inhabitation, thereby pushing property relations in a direction that rarely benefits those on the housing margins. We foreground an alternative to criminalisation, pointing towards a recent pragmatic, bottom-up policy of ‘negotiated stopping’ in Leeds in northern England. This builds upon dialogue and cooperation in avoiding costly and disruptive eviction and criminalisation processes, but also potentially creates spaces and opportunities for more positive urban encounters with difference.

Nomadic livelihood resilience through tourism

In recent decades, global changes have resulted in tensions in socio-ecological systems. As a result, livelihood resilience has become a serious concern for managers and researchers. These changes had a negative impact on the livelihood resilience of Iran's nomadic communities. This study seeks to explore how tourism development affects the resilience of nomadic livelihoods. In this qualitative field research, we studied four nomadic communities living in the Fars province of Iran. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with different informants, informal discussions, and field observations and then analyzed thematically. The findings demonstrate that tourism development strengthens nomadic livelihood resilience through improving the multifunctional quality of livelihood capitals and decreasing nomadic livelihood's reliance on animal husbandry by diversifying income sources.

Performance Analysis of OLSR Protocol in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Optimized Link State Routing Protocol (OLSR) is an efficient routing protocol used for various Ad hoc networks. OLSR employs the Multipoint Relay (MPR) technique to reduce network overhead traffic. A mobility model's main goal is to realistically simulate the movement behaviors of actual users. However, the high mobility and mobility model is the major design issues for an efficient and effective routing protocol for real Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs). Therefore, this paper aims to analyze the performance of the OLSR protocol concerning various random and group mobility models. Two simulation scenarios were conducted over four mobility models, specifically the Random Waypoint model (RWP), Random Direction model (RD), Nomadic Community model (NC), and the Reference Point Group Model (RPGM) with a low as well as high random range mobility of the nodes. Moreover, BonnMotion Software and Network simulator NS-3 used to implement the simulation scenarios. Further, the performance of the OLSR protocol analyzed and evaluated based on latency, routing overhead, and packet loss ratio metrics. According to the results, the OLSR protocol provides the best performance over the RWP model in a low mobility environment, whereas the Nomadic mobility model is suitable for OLSR protocol in a high mobility environment.

Писаница из Цитадели городища Артезиан: двадцать лет исследования

For two decades, the study of the most interesting lapidary monument has been going on – the Pisanitsa petroglyphs found in 2000 in the drainage cladding during the excavations of the Citadel of the Artezian Ancient Settlement. The archeologists found two monograms, three groups of characters, and traces of a two-line poorly preserved inscription. Many tamgas as well as the text and ligatures on this monument indicate its high significance. We believe that the abbreviations and tamgas of the first group were made by a professional carver in memory of the agreement of the Pontic commander Neoptolemus with the leaders of barbarian clans, joined later by his succeccor Machares, son of Mithridates VI Eupator Dionysus. The monograms encrypt the names of the Pontic nobles. Unfortunately, the inscription under the monograms has been preserved in fragments. It presumably contained the text of the agreement between the barbarian leaders and the Pontus representatives. The slab with the insignia was fastened in a prominent place in the wall of the Citadel. Later, when less influential clans joined the agreement, their insignia appeared on the slab as scratched thin lines above and below the line with the previously placed monograms and tamgas. The signs of the third group, most likely, appeared when the slab was removed from the wall and used again to be found later in the cladding of the defensive moat. The discovery of tamgas, monograms, and inscription in the Pisanitsa petroglyphs enhances our insight of the intercultural interaction between the barbarian clans of Taurica and the Northern Black Sea region on the one hand and the residents of Pontus on the other. No less important is that the discovery specifies the structure of the nomadic Iranian-speaking community in the region in the second half of the 1st century BCE.

How Implementation Research Could Increasing the Impact of Integrated Techniques of Controlling Schistosomiasis Among the Poor, Vulnerable and Marginalized Population in the Lower and Upper Fulladou Districts of the Gambia?

Schistosomiasis is endemic in both the central and upper river region of The Gambia. Two mass drug administrations of praziquantel did not stop the transmission of these infections. Most of the World Health Organization recommended approach to controlling schistosomiasis through Mass Drug Administration has not significantly reduced transmission. The best approach could be multifaceted which will be designed to explore in the context of implementation research approach in addressing this infection at one of the hot spots in the Gambia to enhance the attainment of the schistosomiasis elimination road map of 2030. The target population will be farmers engaged in rice growing in river sites and swampy areas, as well as fishermen. Most of whom are women who do their laundry around farmland water bodies or freshwater river sites. The data collected will be analyzed and interpreted to provide better understanding in the context of knowledge, attitudes and, practices of these nomadic communities regarding the risk factors involved with schistosomiasis transmission, control and prevention. Developed materials and awareness messages on the prevention and control of schistosomiasis will therefore be use for community engagement activities to increase awareness on the disease, improve health seeking behaviors and increase treatment uptake. Thus, this community-led intervention could help to reduce the prevalence of schistosomiasis in Upper and Lower Falladou Districts.

How Implementation Research Could Increasing the Impact of Integrated Techniques of Controlling Schistosomiasis Among the Poor, Vulnerable and Marginalized Population in the Lower and Upper Fulladou Districts of the Gambia?

Schistosomiasis is endemic in both the central and upper river region of The Gambia. Two mass drug administrations of praziquantel did not stop the transmission of these infections. Most of the World Health Organization recommended approach to controlling schistosomiasis through Mass Drug Administration has not significantly reduced transmission. The best approach could be multifaceted which will be designed to explore in the context of implementation research approach in addressing this infection at one of the hot spots in the Gambia to enhance the attainment of the schistosomiasis elimination road map of 2030. The target population will be farmers engaged in rice growing in river sites and swampy areas, as well as fishermen. Most of whom are women who do their laundry around farmland water bodies or freshwater river sites. The data collected will be analyzed and interpreted to provide better understanding in the context of knowledge, attitudes and, practices of these nomadic communities regarding the risk factors involved with schistosomiasis transmission, control and prevention. Developed materials and awareness messages on the prevention and control of schistosomiasis will therefore be use for community engagement activities to increase awareness on the disease, improve health seeking behaviors and increase treatment uptake. Thus, this community-led intervention could help to reduce the prevalence of schistosomiasis in Upper and Lower Falladou Districts.

Степная дипломатия Гиреев. Послание хана Джанибек-Гирея 1633 г.

A letter from the Сrimean Khan Janibek Giray to the Nogay Horde of 1633, preserved in the Stock 123 “Russia’s Relations with the Nogay Tatars” of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts, is published here. At that time, the Nogay Horde was in a state of complete decline and decay. Intestine strife of Nogay nobles, destructive strikes against the Kalmyks, who occupied the former Nogai pastures over the Volga river, oppression by Russian Astrakhan local governors led to the fact that the Nogays used to move to neighboring countries – in an intention to find peace and protection there. One of desirable and traditional areas of migration were the North Black Sea steppes, which were under the authority of the Girays. The Khan’s message was addressed to the mirzas and ignorant leaders of the nomadic communities, but not to the nominal ruler of the Horde biy Kanay, because in the 1630s he completely lost his remaining authority. One of the reasons of the Khan’s appeal was the search of new human resources (albeit in the form of relatively poor, but numerous steppe people) to strengthen his power in the state, thoroughly weakened by long internecine turmoil – the feud between the aristocratic clans of Shirins and Mansurs. In addition, extension horsemen were needed for raids on the Russian borders, which became more frequent at a time when the forces of the Moscow state were diverted to the Smolensk war. In the address to Nogays the Khan does not designate specific conditions of their stay in his subjection, he only names the area of the Dnieper, through which migrants from the East would roam. Janibek Giray placed the main emphasis on co-belief and called for Islamic solidarity. Loyal to the Russian authorities, mirzas delivered the Crimean letter to Astrakhan, from where the governors sent it to Moscow. The archive keeps the original letter and its Russian translation, made by the Foreign affairs’ office (Posol’sky prikaz). This publication introduces the facsimile of the document and its translations (of the 17th century and modern).

К ВОПРОСУ О ФУНКЦИОНАЛЬНОЙ ИНТЕРПРЕТАЦИИ КОСТЯНОГО ПРЕДМЕТА ИЗ КУРГАНА У СЕЛА ВАРНА (ЧЕЛЯБИНСКАЯ ОБЛАСТЬ)

The functional definition of archaeological artifacts is an important component in the reconstruction process of the economic, social, war and other life spheres of ancient people. This is especially true for societies that have left no written sources. The study aims at functional interpretation of the horn animal-style object based on a comprehensive analysis of the item. The item was found in the Early nomadic burial ground near the village Varna, in the mound of kurgan 2 (Chelyabinsk region, excavated by V. S. Stokolos). The artifact under study has been referred to in the archaeological literature as a “bone cheek-piece”, “fang-pendant”, or “horn” for many years. All these definitions raised certain doubts. The authors of the article revised the opinions suggested by scientists since the discovery of the object and then a different interpretation was proposed and proved. The article provides a detailed description of the morphology of the artifact. It made it possible to draw conclusions about its misinterpretation. The functional and visual characteristics of the object demonstrate, that the artefact was used as the horn top of some kind of staff, depicting feline predators. In the worldview of the nomadic communities of the Eurasian steppes in the 4th‒6th centuries BCE, the images of predators were considered as a symbol of power. Items of this kind could be markers of the high social status of the buried, and they possibly belonged to the ritual sphere.

Distribution of Achaemenid Period Settlements on the Southwest Iran-Khuzestan Ramhormoz Plain with Survey Data

The Ramhormoz region in south and southwest Iran and its large-scale geography extends to the northern highlands of present-day modern Khuzestan. Despite its significance for its connection with the Susa-Persopolis Road during the Achaemenid period, the region did not attract archaeological attention until 1948s. Even in its brevity, the results of the 1969 Wright-Carter survey showed that the Ramhormoz region is promising in shedding light on the relation between the highlands and lowlands of southwest Iran. As a result of new archaeological data and the survey conducted under my supervision, the characteristics of the Achaemenid settlements on the Ramhormoz plain in Southwest Iran were reanalyzed. The influence of geographical factors such as the presence of large rivers and fertile lands on the formation and prosperity of the settlements, and the relations between sedentary, rural, and nomadic communities were examined. It was thus revealed that proximity to commercial roads and access to water resources and pasture were the main determinants in the distribution model of Achaemenid settlements. Rich pastures for nomads, the potential for irrigated agriculture for settlers, and access to communication routes provided advantages for both lifestyles (Alizadeh, 1979). The socio-political control and settlement pattern organized by the central political power in the Late Elamite Period continued in the Achaemenid period as well. Therefore, the settlement pattern is more associated with roads. When the location of the settlements and their distance to each other are examined, it is seen that the frequency of settlements on the Susa-Persepolis Royal Road is very high. Settlements are located on the road within short distances of each other, which shows that the road is a determining factor on settlements in the region due to its socio-economic advantages. During the Achaemenid period, as in the previous period, while settlements continued their development on the slopes of the mountains and on the edge of the plain, they were mainly concentrated in the center of the plain. During this period, the size of the settlements increased, which is indicative of population growth on the Ramhormoz plain during the Achaemenid period.