identity
Quest for Identity: An Ethnographic Inquiry into the Mankirdias of Mayurbhanj, Odisha
By: GEETANJALI PANDA, PRASANT KUMAR SAHOO, RANJAN KUMAR NAIK – This study presents a critical ethnographic exploration of the ongoing cultural and religious transformation among the Mankirdias, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) living in the rolling hills of Similipal forests in Mayurbhanj district, Odisha. Traditionally semi-nomadic, the Mankirdias are widely known for their expertise…
Mnemonic Flavors: How Smell and Taste Trigger Cultural Memory
cultural memory, diaspora, food, identity, mnemonic triggers, nostalgia, postcolonial, Sensory experience, smellBy: CHANDRASEKHAR BHOI – This article examines the close relationship between sensory experience and cultural memory, focusing on how smell and taste serve as powerful mnemonic triggers. Drawing on theories from sensory anthropology, cultural studies, and cognitive psychology, it explores how flavors and aromas evoke personal and collective memories, especially in diasporic and postcolonial contexts.…
Contextualizing Gender Dynamics: A Study of Muslim Women in Rural Haryana
By: CHAND MAHAL RUBY, ARCHANA DASSI – This paper discusses how gender dynamics shape different facets of everyday life of Muslim women of rural Haryana such as education, aspirations, work, mobility and conformity to gendered norms. It argues that socio-economic conditions forged with culturally experienced gender norms shape the unique identity of these women. Based…
Drowning Self. Staging the Charm of the Strange, the Power of the Different, the Beauty of Death
By: MAYA JERRENTRUP – In (amateur) model photography, it is very popular to stage women close to or in water. This motif refers to aquatic creatures that can be distinguished into various categories: the gentle Meerjungfrau and the dangerous Nixe (both translate mermaid), as well as the iconic “Ophelia” who is also associated with an…
The Anthropology of Dress: A Study in the change of Assamese women dress in Assam
By: SIWANI MECH, DEBARSHI PRASAD NATH – As a cultural artefact, the dress holds an important position in everyday life. Other than covering one’s body, it is representational and can be linked to questions of identity, nationalism, status, class and caste. This paper highlights the importance of clothing as a significant part of material culture…
From Adoption to Eviction: The Blood Quantum and the Mohawks
adoptions, blood-quantum, Canadian federal laws, demographic control, genetic, identity, Mohawks, reservations, social control, tribal laws, US federal lawsBy: SANDRA BUSATTA – Historically the Mohawks survived as a political-ethnic entity thanks to massive adoptions of people from other tribes, as well as European countries. They counted more ‘galvanized’ Mohawks than full-blooded ones already at the end of the 17th century. While they stopped adopting whole tribes after the Mourning/Beaver Wars, in the 18th…
Space and Identity. A Study on the Tradition and Change of the Gujars of Himachal Pradesh
By: DIPANKAR CHATTERJEE, ARNAB DAS – The unique life-ways of the ‘Gujar’ pastoral community of India have evoked significant interest in recent time as they are struggling hard to retain their cultural identity against the increasing pressure of different forces of change. The ‘Gujars’ are wedded to herding buffaloes since long past and nurturing a…
Former British Colony. Mauritians in the Face of Globalisation
By: SYLVIE MAURER – Mauritius is a former French and British colony in the Indian Ocean. Now, this island country has become a multicultural and multiethnic society due to several waves of immigration from Europe, Africa and Asia, all through the past three centuries. Each wave of immigration brought in new peoples along with their…