Social Ceremonies Research Articles

GYILEAS AGENRE IN DAGAABALAND, GHANA

The gyil (Xylophone) is a tuned idiophone, the principal instrument for Dagaabas for both religious and social ceremonies. This paper examines the place of gyil genre in Dagaaba culture. This study unveils the rich cultural traditions of the Dagaaba people of Winneba and Kasoa in the Central Region of Ghana; an anthropological documentation formed an important part of the study. The contextual meaning of the composition used in this study was based on Akuno’s (1997) theory on social functions. Thirty-nine Dagaaba gyil folk songs were collected from traditional performers, through purposeful and snowball sampling techniques. Songs were recorded, transcribed and analysed for dominant traditional musical features. Rhythmic and melodic accuracy of the transcribed songs were ascertained by play backs using FINALE notation software. The focus of this paper is therefore based on the Origin, Contextual Setting, Organology, Construction as well as the linguistic analysis of some selected songs

Legal and social ceremonies to formalize same-sex relationships: Associations with commitment, social support, and relationship outcomes.

Legal and social ceremonies to formalize same-sex relationships: Associations with commitment, social support, and relationship outcomes.

A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO DISABILITY REHABILITATION: THE CASE OF A PERSON WITH DISABILITY

Background and purpose: Community-based rehabilitation programs focus on identifying available resources in the community in order to support the patients. Resource Information Centers (RICs) play a vital role in mobilizing these resources by disseminating appropriate information among the stakeholders. However, little has been reported in the literature about the specific roles associated with RICs. In this study, we report the role of RICs as part of a community-based rehabilitation program (CBRP) for a person with disability.Method: A 34-year-old male with left leg above knee amputation was identified during our field visit. The field visit was undertaken by members of a RIC visit to the areas affected by an earthquake in Pakistan in October 2005. The Government of Pakistan, in collaboration with some national and international organizations, had introduced a 3-year program (2007-2010) in which community-based rehabilitation programs were made available for areas affected by earthquakes. The patient was initially referred to another organization that was working on providing rehabilitation service for persons with disability. He was provided with an artificial leg prosthesis for which he had been referred. Results: After receiving the artificial limb, the patient managed to return to his previous occupation which ultimately improved his financial status. Moreover, an improvement in his social integration was observed in the form of his ability to attend social meetings and ceremonies. Conclusion: The patient case we discuss is, we suggest, illustrative of the majority of people with disabilities (PWDs) in countries such as Pakistan are unaware of the exiting services designed to help them to manage their disability. The financial constraints of the PWDs might be overcome by offering guidance on how to access the available resource in their community. Such actions significantly increase the provision of person-centered healthcare.

La muerte del poeta. Funeral de estado y ritual social en el fallecimiento de José Zorrilla (1893)

During the nineteenth century, the State attempted to create civil rituals to replace or supplement military and religious ceremonies. State funerals were part of these rituals that mixed different components trying to project onto society the values of the nation and the liberalism thought. This article analyzes this process through the funeral of the poet Jose Zorrilla (January 1893). In Zorrilla’s funeral it can be seen the attempt of the State for starring in the ceremony, the presence of the Church in the whole process and the will of the deceased that was not respected at all. To carry out the work, it has been used information from various sources and it has been applied a methodology of analysis based on the study of civic rituals as social ceremonies.

Social Network, Social Trust and Shared-Goals towards Organizational-Knowledge Sharing

This study ascertains that organizational-knowledge sharing is facilitated by social network, social trust and shared-goal in a culture of trust, cooperation and participation. Trust advancement and civil participation networks facilitate relationship and reinforce existing information about trust of people. Individuals move closer to each other in social ceremonies by doing the same behaviors. This concordance leads to trust and confidence and high social participation in limited, medium and wide ranges. There is a close relationship between in group trust and participation and formation of voluntary and civil associations. Employing Descriptive Research design, including survey, in-depth study, correlation and comparison, data was gathered on the prevalence of organizational-knowledge sharing. It was found out that social network, social trust and shared-goals are independent of age and educational attainment; however, social thrust was found dependent with the respondents’ work-department. Moreover, social network social trust and shared-goals were found highly significantly related to their attitude towards knowledge-sharing, subjective norms on knowledge-sharing, and intentions to share knowledge.

Study on Income and Expenditure of Inland Fishermen in Theni Province, India

In present study attempts has been made to assess the present household income and expenses of inland fishermen in Theni province, India. In Present investigations, 140 respondents were selected and assessed their household socio economic condition, employment, income, and saving with predesigned interview schedule through simple random sampling technique. This study discovered, majority of fishers (about 80%) has having education includes primary education and fishing dominantly by middle age group fishers (60%) with work experience of 10 years, but only 24% were participated in the training programme. The unemployment was found to lower of 31% in fishing as compared to non-fishing (41%) and fishing related activities (75%). Hence, these indicates that, there is scope for amplify the inland fishing per providing appropriate training programme to patronize the social profile. At the same time, the non-fishing activities like agriculture has inevitable role in livelihood and generating higher economic returns when it compared to fishing and fishing related activates. While presenting consumption pattern, education was accounted higher percentage than food, social ceremonies, cloths, health, transport etc, the excess amount was saved in institutional and non-institutional organization.

Sacred Groves of West Bengal: A Model of Community Forest Management

Sacred groves (or SGs) are distinct patches of vegetation (ranging in size from a small cluster of a few trees to a large forest stand spanning several hundred acres) which are consecrated in the name of local deities or ancestral spirits. Removal of any living things from the SG is a taboo, although dead logs and leaves are sometimes removed from some SGs. This institution is perhaps the best example of indigenous traditional resource use practices promoting conservation of biodiversity.In West Bengal, most SGs are found in the southwestern districts where the tribal populations are the largest, and where industrial development has not expanded enough to expunge indigenous cultural traditions. The indigenous cultural milieu in the region consists of a strong legacy of animistic institutions including SGs. The lack of industrial growth in the region seems to have facilitated the survival of such institutions. Furthermore, most of the forests in the region belong to the Protected Forest category, allowing villagers virtually free access to a wide range of non-timber forest products (NTFP). This relative freedom of the villagers in these districts to harvest and use NTFP seems to have indirectly allowed the local forest-based cultural traditions to persist, in which SGs occupy a significant space.Protected over centuries, SGs are remnants of pristine forests in climax formation (Malhotra et al., 2001). However, our survey of SGs in West Bengal indicates that along with the indigenous flora, non-native trees like guava (Psidrius guajava), Acacia auriculiformes, Ervatamia divaricata and Polyalthia longifolia also occur in the SGs. This indicates that these trees are often planted in the SGs to replace dead trees in the stand, and therefore the biotic composition of SGs is not necessarily pristine, but is a result of continuous human intervention and management.SGs are known to contain many rare and endemic flora. Our inventory of SGs in four randomly selected administrative blocks of three districts of West Bengal has recorded a total of 117 species of angiosperm trees, among which 15 species have become rare in the State forests of southwest Bengal (Table 1). Specimens of an unidentified species of liana and an unidentified tree of Bombycideae family have been recorded from two SGs in Bankura district. SGs also function as important refugia for many animals. At least four resident birds, including the large Indian parakeet, prefer the SGs over other habitats in West Medinipur district of West Bengal (Deb et al. 1997).Conservation of biodiversity in SGs is a consequence of the sacred physical space of the SG, which is communally shared as commons, and used to observe important social ceremonies in indigenous societies. Several cultural festivals are performed in the SG, which also provide a meeting place on various occasions including social gatherings, marriage, after-death rituals, etc. (Deb and Malhotra 1997).

On the nature of prize

In this paper prize is seen as a sign of distinction and point is made to its ephemeral quality and its connection with the cultural canon, which is reserved for the few cultural heroes and their deeds. Then, on the example of some of the most famous European and national awards, the paper has indicated their prestige and market role. Special attention is given to the media presentation of the awards and the fact that in the absence of media attention the winner and the awarded work are deprived of the presentation to the public. In the final part of the paper, the importance of award receiving is underlined as a social ceremony.

Women and the Production of Ceremonial Textiles: A Reevaluation of Ceramic Textile Tools in Etrusco-Italic Sanctuaries

Ceremonial textiles in the ancient Mediterranean are well attested in literature and visual representations but are often difficult to document because of the limited preservation of the textiles themselves. Several depictions of textile production in elite contexts from pre-Roman Italy, as well as the common occurrence of textile tools in assemblages of prestige grave goods, have traditionally been used to illustrate the social significance of textile skills for Etrusco-Italic women. Less attention has been directed to the actual practice of such skills in ritual or social ceremonies. This study brings forth new evidence from the numerous tools for spinning and weaving found in Etrusco-Italic sanctuaries to elucidate the relationships between textiles, women, and the sacred sphere.

Black and brown carbon fractal aggregates from combustion of two fuels widely used in Asian rituals

Incense sticks and mustard oil are the two most popular combustion fuels during rituals and social ceremonies in Asian countries. Given their widespread use in both closed and open burning activities, it is important to quantify the spectral radiative properties of aerosols emitted from the combustion of both fuels. This information is needed by climate models to assess the impact of these aerosols on radiative forcing. In this study, we used a 3-wavelength integrated photoacoustic-nephelometer – operating simultaneously at 405, 532 and 781nm – to measure the optical coefficients of aerosols emitted from the laboratory combustion of mustard oil lamp and two types of incense sticks. From the measured optical coefficients at three wavelengths, time-varying single scattering albedo (SSA), absorption Ångström exponent (AAE), and scattering Ångström exponent (SAE) were calculated. For incense smoke particles, the time-averaged mean AAE values were found to be as high as 8.32 (between 405 and 532nm) and 6.48 (between 532 and 781nm). This spectrally-varying characteristic of AAE indicates that brown carbon – a class of organic carbon which strongly absorbs solar radiation in the blue and near ultraviolet – is the primary component of incense smoke aerosols. For aerosols emitted from the burning of mustard oil lamp, the time-averaged mean AAE values were ∼1.3 (between 405 and 781nm) indicating that black carbon (BC) is the primary constituent. Scanning electron microscopy combined with image processing revealed the morphology of incense smoke aerosols to be non-coalescing and weakly-bound aggregates with a mean two-dimensional (2-d) fractal dimension (Df)=1.9±0.07, while the mustard oil smoke aerosols had typical fractal-like BC aggregate morphology with a mean 2-d Df=1.85±0.09.

Community singing: what does that have to do with health?

No abstract available.

'Rules of Conduct'; Applying Deference and Demeanor to Understand Status Inconsistency and Role Conflict in Family Firms

Erving Goffman's analysis of everyday life interaction rituals as significant social ceremonies (Goffman, 1963:8; 1956:473, 499; 1971: 62-65) is the foundation for the propositions presented in the paper. Applying the concepts of deference and demeanor developed by Goffman (1956), this paper will explore how the “rules of conduct” in regards to managing social position within family businesses may lead to conflict as a result of status inconsistency and role conflict. Subsequently, a typology is provided in which dysfunctional conflict may be managed by family firms based on the degree of individual deference or demeanor.

Late-Onset Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder With Comorbid Narcolepsy After Perfect Blend of Thalamo-Striatal Stroke and Post-Streptococcal Infection

Late-Onset Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder With Comorbid Narcolepsy After Perfect Blend of Thalamo-Striatal Stroke and Post-Streptococcal Infection

Assessment of diversity amongst a set of aromatic rice genotypes from India

Both the level of genetic diversity and the number of rice genotypes preserved in rice germplasm banks are high but apart from the basmati the rest of the indigenous aromatic genotypes in India have received little attention. Hence, there is an urgent need to catalogue, characterize and conserve the non-basmati indigenous aromatic rice genotypes, which are inextricably integrated with religious and social ceremonies, rituals and traditional knowledge. In addition, these aromatic genotypes are vital genetic resources for agronomic and quality traits. This study analyses the diversity among 26 indigenous non-basmati aromatic rice genotypes, six basmati and 9 HYV; both morphologically using 12 grain and kernel traits and genetically using 23 previously mapped SSR markers. High genetic diversity was observed for the grain and kernel dimension and quality traits, in the indigenous non-basmati aromatic rice genotypes through D2 analysis. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) profile obtained from 23 SSR markers generated 172 alleles including 28 rare alleles and 9 null alleles. The ensuing dendrogram obtained from the SSR profiles clustered the basmati rice and the indigenous non-basmati aromatic rice genotypes separately. Key words: Aromatic rice, genetic diversity, SSR polymorphism.

Misconceptions about Native Religions: A Post-Colonial Study

This paper examines how the native religions were degraded under colonial regimes and how their social structures and ceremonies were dismantled in the process. The colonial governments took the help of many agencies to prove that the religious systems of the natives and their affiliated cultures were inferior to the superior European culture. The paper argues that the native cultures were not only environment friendly, but also tolerant. The paper illustrates that the current problems like environmental degradation and religious intolerance is a result of the dismantling of these structures.

Dzi’i-Ba’a and the Semiotic Junction of Marriage in the Mekuk Tribe

Abstract This paper highlights the Mekuk tribe's Dzi'i-Ba'a as a sign of theatralization of marriage, as the obvious proof of the semiotic junction, that is to say, the vectorial relation uniting the subject with the valuable object; man with woman. Dzi'i-Ba'a is a genuine Bantou tradition in which social ceremony and theatrical spectacle are identical. It stresses the traditional process of a man's search for the woman, strengthening a certain supremacy of the man. According to the nature of marriage, the artifices of selection underline the importance of the communicative axis Transmitter-Object- Receiver, as in Greimas' actantial diagram. These relations evidence the polemic still in force about the woman's status, and underline also the will to perpetuate the values of the social group and the entirety of social strategies, the purpose of which is to consolidate the domination of man over woman, or of a clan, or a tribe, over others.

Going downmarket: Ghana's rural banks adapt informal savings methodology

A savings-and-credit scheme adapted by Ghana's rural banks from traditional informal methodologies is found to be effective in reaching unbanked clients and mobilizing additional domestic financial resources. Participation in the scheme transformed clients’ perception of the difficulties of saving and obtaining credit. Evidence indicated that accessing credit increased clients’ ability to purchase assets and support their household in education and health expenditures and decreased their tendency to spend on community social ceremonies. Nevertheless, the success of the scheme depends on methodologies used to mitigate risks of fraud and default: use of employees rather than autonomous agents; retention of savings of at least 50 per cent of loan amount; effective screening of loan applications, monitoring of both clients and mobile bankers; and good data systems.

Sceptre of a Masker (On Some Folk Rituals in Dagestan)

AbstractMaskers play a vital role in the ritual and social ceremonies of Dagestan. With sceptre in hand, the maskers' part in folk traditions has preserved this previously sacral iconography in a profane form. This paper seeks to illuminate the role of the maskers and the mythological symbolism of the sceptre through descriptive analysis of festive ceremonies in Dagestan, while comparing its function to other Caucasian communities.

Small Ruminant Production Among Farmers in Iseyin Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT This study examines small ruminants produced by farmers in the Iseyin Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used in selecting 125 respondents for the study. The majority of the respondents were between the ages of 21−40 years—male, married, and Muslim—with no formal education and a primary occupation of farming. Respondents kept an average stock size of 6–10 goats and 1–5 sheep on a free range. Farmers keep small ruminants as a source of income for spreading risks such as crop failure, for slaughter during social ceremonies, and as a measure of social status. Respondents had occasional contacts with extension agents. Constraints experienced by respondents include theft, lack of capital, drugs, and improved feed. Agricultural development programs should provide livestock extension services to small ruminant farmers and support local sanctions by government enforcement agents.

Deconstructing Patriarchy in Lesotho: A Case of Peka

Based on the anthropological study undertaken in Peka over a period of two years, and using the postmodernism theory of deconstruction, the paper deconstructs the socio-cultural practices of Basotho which seem to uphold and celebrate patriarchy in the society. The main practices the paper looks at are `koae, extra-marital affair, bridewealth, social ceremonies and rituals and paramouncy and chieftainship in Lesotho and in particular at Peka area. Though deconstructive approach is problematic in analysing non-western societies, it is however a useful approach which can be successfully used to uncover different meanings and indicate how these meanings can change and shift. Keywords: Deconstruction, Patriarchy, Custom, Logo centrism, Multi-vocality