Village Headman Research Articles

Roads and the Raj: The politics of road building in colonial Naga Hills, 1860s–1910s

This article looks at the historical importance of borderland routes, the way they were laid out, built and monitored, and the changing role of hill communities in this colonial enterprise. It argues that road building provided a crucial site upon which plots of empire building could unfold in the Naga Hills. This was a space, which had to be constituted through the politics of access. Access routes intensified the colonial state’s ability to penetrate, control and incorporate ‘unstable’ peripheral areas and its inhabitants into the imperial domain. Road building was then woven into a complex network of colonial practices such as military surveillance, taxation, population enumeration and the subordination of the hill populace as ‘coolies’. However, British officials could not have simply re-shaped the landscape, framed policies and establish its domination from above. To do so, they had to engage with the existing ‘traditional’ structures and institutions, whereby they had to create and draw upon native agents in the form of gaonburras (village headmen) and dobhashis (interpreters) who came to hold considerable stake in their imperial project.

Risk Management of Occupational Health and Safety in RiceFarmers in Ngrendeng, East Java in 2012

Agriculture is an important sector that has big impact to the society thus a program that can keep its sustainability is needed, especially in term of productivity. The focus of this study was risk management of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in rice farmers in Ngrendeng Village, Ngawi, East Java in 2012 with analyze hazard and risk on activities and workplaces. This study was a semi-quantitative analitical descriptive with observational approach using Australian Standard/New Zealand Standard (AS/NZS) 4360:2004 about risk management. Analysis was made based on whole farming processes observed and information from village headman, a land and farm machines owner, and 5 farmers. The result showed that rice farmers’ activities have 71 risks from 16 work activities and hazard sources. Rice grinding activity was a high risk activity with 11 risks. The highest value of risk, reaching 1500 (very high), comes from ergonomy, in which noise exposure, vibration exposure, UV radiation exposure, chemical exposure from pesticide and fertilizer, gas exposure, and dust exposure attained. In brief, rice farming was an agriculture activity with high risks that harmful for farmers’ health and safety. Therefore, OHS program would be needed to manage hazard and risk and keep farmers’ productivities.

Glembuk, Strategi Politik dalam Rekrutmen Elite Penguasa di Desa Pulungansari Yogyakarta

Credibility is the power resource of village elites in Java that has ability to find out influence to the people. However, village elites also still require glembuk as a strategy to generate credibility, or to make the people merely under their control even though without legitimacy. Glembuk is implemented through conducting political transaction between the elites and the peoples, the elites persuate and negosiate their interest, and offer a compensation in term of services, goods, money or something that is important, or valuable for the peoples. Elites become to rely more on glembuk in the contestation of rulling elite recruitment such as village staff (pamong) and headman (lurah) direct election because they have no sufficient credibility requirement. The winers are the elites enabling to produce glembuk that manipulate and show off their potential as the credible leaders.

Factors affecting the choice for home deliveries in Malawi

In developing countries, a high rate of maternal and neonatal deaths have been associated with home births. This study explored factors that influence pregnant women to deliver at home in the Thekerani Area of Thyolo district in Malawi. The study design was descriptive and recruited a convenience sample of 253 mothers. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire on women who were attending fewer than five postnatal and family planning clinics. The results identified four main factors that influenced home delivery; longwalking distance to a health facility (78%); lack of financial support while in hospital (52%); hostile behaviour of health personnel towards women in labour (40%) and traditional beliefs (31%). This study found that there is a need to: provide bicycle ambulances to each group village headman for easy transportation of pregnant women to health facilities, create awareness of birth preparedness and complications, upgrade existing primary health care centres to provide emergency obstetric and neonatal care services and empower the women financially through income generating activities.

Ethnoveterinary uses of medicinal plants among the Lambani community in Chitradurga district, Karnataka, India

ObjectiveTo explore and document ethnomedicinal knowledge of various plants used by the Lambani ethnic group in Chitradurga District of Karnataka, Southern India for traditional veterinary purposes. The area is rich in plant wealth; therefore this study has been made to prepare an inventory of indigenous medicinal plants and to bring traditional knowledge on record. MethodsIn accordance to standardized WHO questionnaires, one hundred fourteen informants — consisting of healers, practitioners, farmers and village headman — were interviewed regarding the medicinal use of the local flora in various tribal villages of Chitradurga District, Karnataka during February 2010 to October 2010. ResultsEthno botanical uses of 39 plants belonging to 24 families have been documented in the present study for their interesting therapeutic properties for various veterinary ailments such as lack of appetites, bloat, fever, ephemeral fever, diarrhea, cough, foot and mouth disease etc. Of the plants studied, most were trees and leaves contributed mainly to the plant part used for medical purpose. ConclusionsLambani tribe, who are generally poor and live in remote areas, use ethno veterinary medicine (EVM) for the primary healthcare of their animals. The use of plants reveals their interest in ethnomedicine and further research on these species could lead to the discovery of novel bioactive molecules for efficient management of diseases.

Lucayan–Taíno burials from Preacher's cave, Eleuthera, Bahamas

AbstractIn March 2007, three prehistoric skeletons were excavated and analysed from Preacher's Cave on the northern aspect of the island of Eleuthera in the Bahama archipelago. The human skeletal remains represent two males and one female dating to AD 800–1300. The first is a female in the 30s with mild osteoarthritis of the joints and spine and several healed fractures who may have been an important community elder. The second is a male in the 20s with Schmorl's nodes who may have been a shaman or even a victim of interpersonal violence. The third is a male in the mid to late 20s also with marginal osteoarthritis of the joints and spine who may have been a ceremonial leader and village headman. The high incidence of carious lesions implies a cariogenic diet possibly rich in starchy foodstuffs or even fructose. The presence of grave goods and plaited mats suggest that at least two individuals may have been of high status. This study emphasises the significance of caves to Lucayan–Taíno mythology, cosmology and mortuary practice. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Role of Micro Hydro Power Systems in Remote Rural Electrification: A Case Study in The Bawan Valley, Borneo

Like communities all over the world, the people of the Bawan Valley in the East Kalimantan Province of Indonesian Borneo want the benefits of electricity. The Bawan Valley, however, is geographically isolated from the rest of East Kalimantan, making access to electricity via the national electricity grid impossible. Hydro resources are abundant in the Bawan Valley and hydroelectricity is a promising option for electrification of remote villages in this area. The existing micro hydro systems in the area have been built as government, community-based or private agency projects. Some of these micro hydro systems have been more successful than others. This paper presents the results of a study of two micro hydro systems in the Bawan Valley villages of Liang Butan and Tang Paye. The study aimed to provide insight into critical issues in the stages of development and the impacts of a micro hydro system on rural communities in the Bawan Valley. Surveys of the villages included field observations, written questionnaires, energy audits and semi-structured interviews with community leaders and householders. Various key informants, such as village headmen, Kepala Adat (grass roots community leader), and micro hydro equipment manufacturers were also interviewed. The key findings of the study were that the success of micro hydro systems depends not only on technical aspects, such as design and operation and maintenance, but also on social factors such as community capacity building, and that the successful implementation of micro hydro systems in remote areas requires careful planning and the involvement of all stakeholders in the planning process.

India grapples with its child marriage challenge

India grapples with its child marriage challenge

A Kingship by Merit and Cosmic Investiture: An Investigation into King Alaungmintaya's Self-Representation

Alaungmintaya’s rise from village headman to kingship in less than five years raises manifold questions regarding the perception of Buddhist kingship in Myanmar. The new king had to establish his credentials not only on the battlefield, but also within a particular cultural and religious environment. Based largely on the edicts and letters of the king himself, this paper takes a look at the way that the king communicated his claims to royal status to other kings and his subjects. It focuses in particular on the common notion of kingship by merit which, in the king’s mind, not only explained and legitimized his political rise, but also made explicit the cosmic relevance of his mission to protect the Buddhist religion. For Alaungmintaya, kingship was not only a reward due to past merits, but the fulfillment of a higher mission with divine approval. By paying close attention to the religious connotations of key terms within their cultural and textual context, the paper tries to highlight the complexity of royal self-representation.

Situation of emergency in Thailand

Researchers used the literature review method and pilot study in a village in North Eastern region. The methods were field observation, in-depth interview, and focus group discussion. The data were...

Women Administrators in Epigraphic Sources

This article attempts to re-read the narratives of political and administrative achievements of women and their contribution in early medieval India through inscriptional sources (AD 600–1200). It looks into the aspects like what contributions females made towards socio-economic and political developments when they were given a chance to hold the administration. Various rules of succession have also been commented upon. Their roles as independent rulers or as regents has been studied in several dimensions. This article has also tried to find through inscriptions the administrative efficiency of females working at various levels of administration, from a ruler to a governor or from a feudatory to holding the responsibility of a village head (wo)man. Important conclusions tend to justify as well as negate certain preconceived notions regarding this age (Dark Age) as well as regarding those female rulers who got lesser or no chance to get mentioned in the pages of history.

Emerging Reality in Customary Land Tenure: The Case of Kachenga Village in Balaka District, Southern Malawi.

This paper discusses land tenure changes that have occurred in one village in Balaka district, southern Malawi and the forces that have been at work. The current land tenure system departs in a number significant of ways from what is supposed to be the ideal situation. Among the important changes are the diminishing role of the group village headman as allocator of land rights, increasing importance of family heads as allocaters of land rights and the development of an informal land market.

The Distribution, Status and Conservation of Hoolock Gibbon,Hoolock hoolock,in Karbi Anglong District, Assam, Northeast India

In India, the hoolock gibbon, Hoolock hoolock, is found only in a small part in the northeast, south of the Brahmaputra River and east of the Dibang River. This article describes its distribution, habitat and conservation and also compares its relative status over the past 15 years in Karbi Anglong, the largest district of Assam in India. The hoolock gibbon still occurs over a large part of the district but in depleted numbers. It has been recorded from altitudes of less than 100 m to above 1,300 m. Hoolocks have become rarer due to habitat loss and hunting and, except for a few protected areas and larger reserved forests, they are found in scattered groups, where they may not survive for long. Karbi Anglong has the largest known habitat and estimated population of the species in Assam. A rough population estimate indicates that the total numbers of hoolock gibbons today could be between 2,400 and 3,200. This can be compared to an estimate in 1991–1992 of 3,500–4,800. The hoolock gibbon is protected by law and occurs in all the five protected areas and in at least 20 reserved forests and 14 proposed reserved forests in the district. Of these, its continued presence is doubtful in at least four reserved forests and one proposed reserved forest. The creation of further protected areas, adequate protection of existing protected areas, control of jhum cultivation and poaching, and awareness and involvement of churches and village headmen in conservation are recommended.

The Organization of Cultural Tourism by the Community People in the Region of Toong Kula Rong Hai

Problem statement: The real concern of this study was relevant to the issue of how to encourage Toong Kula Rong Hai to become one of the tourists’ attractions distinctively focusing on organic agriculture and cultural tourism. Approach: This was a Qualitative case study conducted in the Koo-Kaa-Sing village, Koo-Kaa-Sing sub-district, Ka-Sate-Wisai district, Roi Et province, geographically recognized as part of Toong Kula Rong Hai in the Northeastern part of Thailand. The subject of this study was obtained by means of Specified Random Sampling. The sample used consisted of folk philosophers, specialists, Buddhist monks, the village headman, the sub-district headman, the Assembly of Cultural Affairs/the Cultural Council, experts, highly qualified persons, teachers, housewives, youths and tourists; they accounted for the total of 15 subjects/respondents. The data were gathered by means of surveys, observations, interviews, small group meeting and workshop. The results obtained were presented in descriptive analysis. Results: The findings revealed that the Community of Koo-Kaa-Sing sub-district had set up a club to be intent on and responsible for tourism promotion. They, however, enjoyed the firm support of the village headman, the sub-district headman and the municipality officials. They utilized the unique available resources as the points of sale. The target tour groups were Tourists interested in Cultural Tourism and students on study tour. However, this Tourism enterprise in the long run tend to be sustainable as long as people enjoy their work and feel happy with their roles to partially play in dealing with the conservation of local cultures and customs. Conclusion: The highly plausible ways of practice by means of allowing the community staff to organize the cultural tourism by developing the existing club in terms of efficient administration to such an enormous extent of strength. It is necessary to establish the tourism network in Toong Kula Rong Hai by creating all the six learning bases to be equipped with permanent instruction media and exhibition/ boards and at the same time adjusting the paradigm of the local government organization and providing the community people with knowledge and understanding of tourism run by the community. So that the community people are urged earnestly to cooperate and take mutual parts and play their wholehearted or voluntary roles.

Tonosama-Onorimawashi The Inspections of the Feudal Estate by the Feudal Lords of the Marugame han ～Various aspects of onari entertainment in some village headman’s documents～

<i>Tonosama-Onorimawashi</i> The Inspections of the Feudal Estate by the Feudal Lords of the Marugame han ～Various aspects of onari entertainment in some village headman’s documents～

Community perceptions of a PMTCT programme in Malawi

Pregnancy and delivery care in the context of HIV/AIDS is a global problem. There is a need to prevent maternal and infant mortality from occurring in many parts of the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Mother-to-child transmission of HIV (MTCT) accounts for almost two-thirds of the new infections in children yearly. Routine (opt-out) HIV testing in antenatal women has been adopted as a policy in many antenatal care (ANC) and delivery settings to reduce MTCT. In limited resource settings, women fail to access delivery services due to many factors. A qualitative study was conducted in rural Malawi, to explore norms and attitudes among community members and service providers towards the HIV testing and delivery care provided within a PMTCT programme. Ten focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with community members (men and women), village headmen, religious leaders, hospital health workers (midwives) and traditional birth attendants (TBAs). Tape-recorded FGDs were analyzed using content analysis. Three themes emerged. The first, ‘acceptable but a potential for conflict and fear’ describes how participants viewed the ANC services including HIV testing. The second, ‘trusted for safety but lacking in respect’ refers to understanding women's reluctance to actually deliver at the hospital and the third, ‘warm and caring but risky’ indicates why women actually may prefer to deliver at home with the assistance of TBAs. There is general community support for the basic components in the PMTCT programme although access and acceptability remains a challenge.

Can the World Bank Build Social Capital? The Experience of Social Funds in Malawi and Zambia

Social funds have been one of the main manifestations of the World Bank's move toward promoting projects with a participatory orientation. Supporters of social funds argue that participation in social fund activities builds community social capital. Critics of the Bank's use of social capital argue that it ignores power structures but these critics have focused on the Bank's research rather than its operations. This paper examines ‘social capital’ in a project context: social funds in Malawi and Zambia. In contrast to the model of collective action suggested by proponents of social funds, it is shown that the nature of community participation is indeed shaped by existing power and social relations. Project identification and execution is led by a small number of people in the community, usually the head teacher in cooperation with the PTA and traditional authorities. The community is then mobilised using the traditional structures of village headmen. Most community members participate actively in making bricks, but passively in decision making. However, this process should be seen as an institutional adaptation to what social funds offer, not elite capture. Most community members are satisfied with the outcome, although the chosen project is not what they would have chosen themselves. Given these processes, social funds do little to build social capital but instead, appear to be users of existing social capital.

Skilled or Traditional Birth Attendant? Choices of Communities in Lukulu District, Rural Zambia

To analyse factors that contribute to the choice of either traditional birth attendants (TBAs) or skilled birth attendants (SBAs) by inhabitants of Zambia's Lukulu District. Cross-sectional descriptive survey. Lukulu District, Western Province, Zambia. 1413 participants: parous women, their husbands, village headmen and elderly women. Preferred and actual place of birth. Questionnaires, structured interviews and focus group discussions. 42% of women gave birth in a health facility, assisted by SBAs; 75: prefer to give birth in a health facility; many barriers are to be passed for women to reach a skilled attendant in time. Skilled birth attendants are preferred to assist at childbirth in Lukulu District. Transportation problems, sociocultural reasons and unpreparedness still cause the majority of women to turn to traditional birth attendants. Traditional birth attendants should not yet be excluded from safe motherhood programs.

Improving tuberculosis case detection rate with a lay informant questionnaire: an experience from the Lao People's Democratic Republic

In many countries, the tuberculosis (TB) annual case detection rate is below the target of 70%. In the Lao People's Democratic Republic in 2005, it did not exceed 55% The DOTS strategy promotes passive case detection of TB. In order to increase the detection rate, we validated a questionnaire targeting lay informants at village level to notify patients with chronic cough and assessed the relevance for TB case-finding. A three-item questionnaire was sent through the district health departments to all villages in six districts in six provinces. The village headmen were asked to notify chronic cough patients. Answers were validated in a door-to-door survey (20 villages/district). In a sub-sample (four villages/district) all confirmed patients were screened for TB and paragonimiasis. Attapeu, Luang Namtha, Luang Prabang, Saravane, Savanakhet and Vientiane provinces in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Lay informant questionnaires sent from district health offices to villages are cost-effective and foster interaction between the health services and remote and underserved communities. Although the correct detection of patients is highly dependent on direct respondents, a substantial number of new TB and paragonimiasis cases were consistently diagnosed in chronic cough patients. Out of 456 questionnaires, 295 were returned (65%). Return rates were highly variable between districts (48-87%), questionnaires' sensitivity (56-98%), positive predictive value (34-88%) and correlation between number of notified and confirmed patients (r: 0.26-0.78). In sub-sampled villages (13,541 population) 19 (5.1%) TB and 26 (7.0%) paragonimiasis cases were detected in 374 chronic cough patients. This quick questionnaire approach proved motivating for district authorities and village key informants, although no incentives were provided. The highly operator-dependent approach yielded a consistent detection rate of TB and paragonimiasis cases. This approach brings health services and populations in need in close contact, which is particularly crucial in remote and underserved areas.

Risk Management by Communal Decision in Trans-Himalayan Farming: Manang Valley in Central Nepal

It is generally assumed that peasants optimize security of food supply rather than maximize profit. One way of securing the survival of the household is to spread risk in farming by extending the planting and harvesting seasons in order to avoid all crops being damaged if unfavorable production conditions should occur. It thus seems peculiar that some Himalayan peasant communities act in the opposite manner by compressing peak agricultural activity into a minimum period, and furthermore that all cultivators simultaneously start planting and harvesting on dates fixed by the village headman in consultation with a lama (Buddhist priest). Rather than suggesting that any single explanation for this practice is the right one, however, this article contends that specific farming system cannot be understood properly unless a combination of subsystems — or facets — are included in the analyses.