Tungus-Manchu Traditional Beliefs. Part 2: Zoomorphic Complex

This article describes the zoomorphic complex of Tungus-Manchu beliefs refl ected in mythology, ritual practices, shamanism, and decorative and applied arts. Those beliefs are regarded as a coherent whole within the cultural system. The typology of the zoomorphic complex shows that the key fi gures were the serpent-dragon, the deer, the bear, and the tiger. In traditional worldviews and rituals, they were related to cosmogony, ancestor cult, hunting and fi shing rituals, healing, and initiation shamanic complexes. The semantics of animal images depended on their place in the cultural system, religious ritual, and artistic communication. Comparative analysis demonstrates both ethno-cultural specifi city and universal archetypal characteristics, as well as connection with ancient regional beliefs. The Tungus- Manchu zoomorphic complex originated within the East Asian traditions, having been infl uenced by cultures such as the Old Chinese, Korean, and Jurchen.

Menstrual Exclusions in Nepal: Some Evidence of Transition

There is a long history of menstrual restrictions, stigmas and taboos across nearly all religions, regions and cultures. The origins of myths and misconceptions have often been linked to various religious texts and women were prohibited from participating in normal life while menstruating. Culturally, in many parts of the world, menstruation is still considered ‘dirty’ and ‘impure’, although this is not true. Menstruation is often associated with feelings of shame, horror, danger, disgust, and sin. There have been initiatives to change the perception that menstruating women are not polluted, thus bringing an end to traditional customs such as not being allowed to sleep in their own home or touch male relatives to more extreme forms of isolation such as being confined to the ‘cow shed’. This paper draws on research conducted between 2019 and 2021 under a British Academy-funded Global Challenge Research Fund project entitled ‘Dignity Without Danger’. The study employed qualitative methods, covering 160 qualitative interviews and 16 focus group discussions among different caste and ethnic groups in three different ecological areas (mountain, hill, and tarai) in seven provinces in Nepal. Today, menstruating women have relatively more freedom to discuss this topic due to increased awareness that menstruation is a natural process. However, our study shows there are still differences between cultures, religions, castes and ethnic groups, and regions, and a single narrative does not represent the issues related to menstrual exclusion in Nepal. The study shows that many menstruating girls and women are still restricted in a number of diverse ways, from not offering prayers, entering or worshiping in temples, touching holy books, and participating in religious rituals. In some areas, more extreme practices persist which discriminate against women when menstruating. Our research highlights that education and an interdisciplinary, multisector approach are required if menstrual discrimination is to be addressed. Finally, this paper emphasizes the necessity for providing correct knowledge about menstruation to the entire community including elders, males and religious leaders as well as adolescents and young girls. Such knowledge will help them practice safe and hygienic menstrual practices, challenge and reduce their traditional beliefs, misconceptions and restrictions regarding menstruation that are essential to achieving menstrual dignity.

Ragam Hias Kalong dalam Senibina Masyarakat Orang Ulu di Sarawak

Kajian berkaitan ragam hias Kalong masyarakat Orang Ulu di Sarawak ini akan memberi fokus terhadap penggunaan Kalong pada senibina yang dihasilkan oleh masyarakat Orang Ulu di samping meneroka tentang makna dan falsafah yang terkandung di sebalik penggunaannya dari perspektif kepercayaan tradisi. Secara umumnya, kesenian dalam masyarakat Orang Ulu tradisional banyak menjurus kepada kepercayaan mistik dan alam ghaib serta mempunyai interaksi yang baik sesama manusia dan alam. Kajian kualitatif ini berdasarkan data-data yang dikumpul dalam bentuk perkataan, sumber majalah, keratan-keratan akhbar dan jurnal-jurnal hasil penulisan pengkaji-pengkaji barat dan tempatan serta lain-lain rekod rasmi. Di samping itu juga, kaedah temu bual dengan responden-responden yang dipilih yang terdiri daripada enam orang daripada kalangan masyarakat Orang Ulu itu sendiri juga menyokong kajian ini. Penemuan dan interpretasi yang dibuat akan dapat menjelaskan mengenai makna penggunaan motif-motif Kalong yang diaplikasikan pada binaan-binaan penting ini dengan lebih tepat lagi. Kajian ini juga dapat mengenal pasti beberapa penggiat yang terlibat dalam menghasilkan karya Kalong serta menjelaskan tentang makna dan falsafah serta mengenal pasti motif Kalong yang menjadi identiti masyarakat Orang Ulu. Kalong Ornaments in the Architecture of the Orang Ulu Community in Sarawak Abstract: This research is about the decoration in the architecture of the Orang Ulu community in Sarawak. It focuses on the use of the bat motifs, whose meaning and philosophy in the perspective of traditional beliefs are also explored. In the Orang Ulu communities, traditional arts are related to mystical and supernatural beliefs. Human beings and nature are believed to interact in harmony. This is a qualitative study in which data are collected, interviews jotted, articles in magazines, newspapers, journals, written by local as well as foreign researchers, and official records are gleaned. Six respondents from the Orang Ulu community are randomly interviewed to help verify the data. These are interpreted to see the significance of the architecture in the Orang Ulu communities. A number of carvers are identified who shed light on the bat motifs that embody the Orang Ulu identity. Keywords: Architecture, Kalong, Orang ulu Community, Ornaments

Culinary Inclinations as a Reflection of Identity in Joanne Harris’s ‘Chocolat’

“Tell me what you eat, I’ll tell you what you are.” : Brillat-Savarin. Literature has always been the mode of reflecting human psyche representing the language of people’s culture and traditions. The culture of food is age old and it shapes the individuals as well as a society’s culture. Complex human issues have been analysed using food images on a metaphoric level to represent cultural identities. Importance of food in literature and the role it played in gender studies asserting women’s suppressed individuality and identity is an upcoming area of study. Apart from observing that women are reduced as a kitchen maker, in today’s society kitchen and cooking are a means of expressing one’s identity before the world and is well expressed in various literary forms. Food and its related concerns with feminine identity and domesticity patriarchal oppression, and repressed sexual desire. have been given a central place in many works of women’s literature. One such English writer who used culinary art in her work is Joanne Harris who’s novel Chocolat deals with the magical powers of chocolate and how it works on the people of a particular town attacking the cultural and traditional beliefs of that place rewriting a cultural identity.

TRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND RITES OF SHESHKUPS / SHESHKUMS ACCORDING TO THE DATA OF FIELD ETHNOGRAPHIC MATERIALS OF THE XX–XXI CENTURIES

Данная статья посвящена исследованию вопроса о традиционных воззрениях и обрядах этнографической (диалектно-локальной) группы шёшкупов/шёшкумов. На основе анализа исследовательской литературы и полевого этнографического материала, собранного разными исследователями-селькуповедами, были выявлены факты о предназначении священных мест в окрестностях д. Иванкино. В данном исследовании удалось определить особенности религиозных верований среднеобских селькупов: они оставляли кузова с семейными лозами не только на чердаках, но и в труднопроходимой кочкарной согре, «подвешивали» духов на березе. Собранные сведения позволяют говорить о сохранении традиционных верований (представлений о домашних духах-помощниках, культовых местах) у местных жителей до конца ХХ в., о чем свидетельствуют материалы, записанные от информантов из д. Иванкино даже в XXI в. This paper is devoted to the study of the issue about traditional views and rituals of the ethnographic (dialectal-local) group of Sheshkups / Sheshkums. Facts about the purpose of sacred places in the vicinity of the village Ivankino, based on the analysis of research literature and field ethnographic material collected by various researchers-selkupologists, were revealed. In this study, it was possible to determine the peculiarities of the religious beliefs of the Middle Ob Selkups: they left baskets with family figures of spirits-helpers not only in attics, but also in almost impassable hillock sogra, and “hung” spirits on birch trees. The collected information allows speaking about the preservation of traditional beliefs (ideas about domestic spirits-helpers, places of worship) among local residents until the end of the 20th century, as evidenced by materials recorded from informants of the village Ivankino even in the 21st century.

Language and Style in Ọbasa’s Poetry

Denrele Adetimkan Obasa (1878-1948) was a great Yoruba poet in his own ́ right. It was he who provided ‘the link between traditional beliefs and writing in the modern vein.’2 The three volumes of Yorùbá poetry produced by him between 1927 and 1945 had a great impact not only on the adults who were impressed by the wealth of traditional sayings in his poems, but also on the school children who were made to learn some of the poems by heart.3 In this paper I intend to answer the question: In what does Obasa’s greatness as ̣ a poet consist? In the Ìjúbà (prologue) to Iwe ̀ ́ Kinni ́ ́ Awo ̀ n Ake ̣ wi, he writes: ̀ O di odụ ́n mó ̣kànléló ̣gbò ̣n nísisiyi (AD 1896) ti mo ti be ́ ̀ ̣re si ̀ ś aạ ́yan kíko -̣́ jo ̣ àwon o ̣ ̀ ̣rò ̣ ogbo ̣ ́ ̣n àtaiyebáyé ti àwon baba n ̣ ́là wa, tí i máa hán jade nínú orin, ègè, rárà, ìjálà, ìpesạ ̀, àròfò ̣, oríkì, ìlù, fèrè àti àgbékà ò ̣ro ̣̀ won…̣ (Obasa 1927: i) (For the past thirtyone years (1896-1927) I have been assembling Yorùbá traditional sayings which embody the wisdom of our fore-fathers. Tese sayings are found in songs and in various forms of Yorùbá poetry; egè, ̀ rará , i ̀ ̀jála, i ́ pè sạ , à rò ̀fo, ori ̣̀ ́ki, and in the language of the drum and the ̀ fute.)

The effect of Christianity on the tradition and culture of the Idoma people of Nigeria: A comparative study

Some of the traditions and cultural beliefs and practices of the Idoma people of Nigeria have been influenced both positively and negatively as a result of the advent of Christianity in the area. The aim of this research is to investigate some of the cultural beliefs and practices of the Idoma people before the advent of Christianity, the people’s response to the new faith and the propelling factors behind the responses of the people. In doing so, a comparative study on these beliefs and practices after the advent of Christianity in Idoma traditional society was done. The study adopts a qualitative phenomenological research design and descriptive method for data analysis. Personal interviews form a primary source of data collection, while the secondary source includes library sources. This method of study was chosen to allow the data collected to speak for themselves without any interference from the researchers. The study unveils that the advent of Christianity in the Idoma traditional society had some impact and consequences on the traditional and cultural practices of the people, such as death and burial ceremonies, the Aje-alekwu festival and widowhood practices among others. The study recommends that there should be a synergy between Idoma traditional beliefs and practices and Christianity for peaceful co-existence, progress and development in the area.Contribution: It is erroneously believed that in the contemporary society, traditional religious practices are going to die and become a thing of the past. However, one would observe from this study that Idoma people still hold their traditional beliefs and practices in high esteem despite the influence of Christianity in the area.

Exclusive breastfeeding practice and its associated factors among children aged 6-23 months in Woldia Town, Northwest Ethiopia

Background: Inappropriate practice of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is still a major problem worldwide.Objective: To identify exclusive breastfeeding practice and its associated factors among children aged 6-23 months in Woldia Town.Methods: A Community based cross-sectional study was carried out.Interviewer-administered questionnaire was utilized to collect the data. The questionnaire was adapted from the 2016 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey. Hosmer-Lemeshowmodel was fitted at a P-value of 0.91. Finally, Variables having P-Value <0.05 with 95% CI was considered as significant factors.Result: The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding practice was 46.2% (95% CI: 42.0, 49.8). Being employed mothers (AOR=0.62,95% CI:0.44,0.87), being head of a household (AOR=0.52,95% CI:0.32,0.83),not g getting husband support (AOR:0.5,95%CI:0.34,0.74),not fed colostrum’s (AOR:0.36,95%CI:0.23,0.57),not affected by traditional belief (AOR:3.59,95% CI:2.09-6.17) shows significant association with Exclusive breast feeding practice.Conclusion: The prevalence of exclusive breast feeding practice was relatively lower than the National prevalence. Some demographic variable and traditional beliefs were significantly associated with exclusive breast feeding. Designing model policies that empower the role of women and eradicating bad traditional beliefs in the community is fundamental step. Keywords: Exclusive Breastfeeding; Breastfeeding practice; Breastfeeding Promotion.

Harmonisasi Tradisi di Tengah Modernitas Umat: Kajian Fenomenologi terhadap Akad Nikah Samin Kudus

Within a plural society, social and cultural discourses are frequently becoming a scourge. One of them is the blending of traditions in the face of people's modernity, such as the link between Islam and the indigenous Samin's traditional beliefs. The purpose of this study is to conduct a phenomenological investigation into the Samin Kudus custom of marriage contracts. Data was gathered using descriptive techniques such as observation, documentation, and interviews, and then analyzed using Edmund Husserl's phenomenological methodology. According to the findings, the marriage contract was held between the groom and the bride through the Samin custom of the marriage contract procession. This is due to the fact that the potential groom is of Samin custom practitioners who also embraces Islam belief, whereas the bride is a Muslimah. In addition, the marital contract procession is a harmonization across traditions in the study of phenomenology, specifically in harmonizing customs and religion through the stages of nyumuk, mbalesi gunem, ngendek, and paseksen. Diskursus sosial dan budaya kerap kali menjadi momok dalam kehidupan masyarakat majemuk. Salah satu di antaranya ialah harmonisasi tradisi di tengah modernitas umat seperti keterkaitan antara Islam dan adat kepercayaan Samin. Tujuan dalam penelitian ini ialah untuk melakukan pendalaman fenomenologis terhadap akad nikah berdasarkan adat Samin Kudus. Data penelitian dihimpun melalui observasi, dokumentasi, dan wawancara dengan teknik deskriptif, kemudian dianalisis menggunakan teori fenomenologi Edmund Husserl. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa akad nikah yang dilangsungkan antara pengantin pria dan wanita melalui prosesi akad nikah berdasarkan adat Samin. Hal ini disebabkan pengantin pria adalah seorang keturunan adat namun telah berstatus sebagai muslim, sedangkan pengantin wanita beragama Islam. Selain itu, dalam kajian fenomenologi prosesi akad nikah merupakan harmonisasi lintas tradisi, yakni menyelaraskan adat dan agama melalui tahapan nyumuk, mbalesi gunem, ngendek, dan paseksen.

Sustainable Team Design: A Challenge to Traditional Beliefs in Information-Intensive Service Industries

Sustainable management activities focus on creating value for organizations. This is particularly relevant in service organizations as they are under increasing pressure to capture and process information efficiently. We advocate that the amount of information and the way teams process this information have a substantial impact on an organization’s ability to sustain a competitive advantage. This study addresses a gap in the literature by examining the impact of the level of information intensity on performance in the service industry. It also contributes to the debate about whether team structure facilitates performance in a service-based organization. A longitudinal design was employed to determine whether information-intensive processes influence performance, and if so, whether the impact differs between team designs. To do this, data were collected from 24,925 motor insurance claims over two distinct time periods. While our findings confirm that information intensity has a direct impact on the performance of claims processing, they also challenge traditional beliefs about self-managed work teams’ dominance. By adopting a more nuanced and context-specific perspective, we discovered that in certain situations the production line approach to team design was more productive than self-directed work teams in respect to critical operational tasks. This research sheds light on a relatively unexplored aspect of the service industry, has implications for sustainable management practices relating to team design, and provides a rich vein for future research studies.