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Religious divide grows amid Thai unrest

Published on November 2, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, Asia, religion cosmology, Us and Them

Asia Times

BANGKOK – Though southern Thailand’s ethnic-Malay Muslims are drawing closer together in the face of heavy-handed government tactics to quash a simmering separatist insurgency, religion is splitting them as Islamic fundamentalists, or reformists, challenge the prevailing Sufi Islam.

Thailand’s Muslims are a mixed bunch, comprising ethnic Malays, Thais, Indians and a smattering of others. “Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala, most of the Muslims there are Malay, but there are Thai Muslim communities there as well, some local and some from other parts of the country,” says Michiko Tsuneda, a University of Wisconsin cultural anthropologist studying Thai-Malay Muslim communities in southern Thailand. >> continue

Asia Times

BANGKOK - Though southern Thailand's ethnic-Malay Muslims are drawing closer together in the face of heavy-handed government tactics to quash a simmering separatist insurgency, religion is splitting them as Islamic fundamentalists, or reformists, challenge the prevailing Sufi Islam.

Thailand's Muslims…

Identity Issues in Mongolia – or The Meaning of Surnames

Published on October 23, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, Asia, culture traditions, language

Los Angeles Times / Yahoo

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia — School principal Baast chose the name “Nomad” in keeping with his wandering spirit. Defense Minister Gurragchaa — the only Mongolian to venture into space — settled on “Cosmos.” And anthropology student Vanchigdash picked the Mongolian word for wisdom. “It makes me feel rather wise,” he said. “I’m very proud of my new name.”

Mongolians, long used to using only first names, are reshaping their identities under a government-led initiative to add surnames. First names worked reasonably well in an isolated, nomadic culture. But officials say surnames are now needed to avoid confusion in a more modern society, to help uncover long-buried roots as people delve into their clan histories and to prevent the inbreeding that occurs when you’re not sure to whom you’re related.

Choosing second names — including the mad dash to name themselves after Genghis — is also helping Mongolians reconnect with their history and rekindle national pride after decades of relative isolation. “A man who doesn’t know his ancestors is like a monk lost in the woods” is a popular proverb here. >> continue

Los Angeles Times / Yahoo

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia — School principal Baast chose the name "Nomad" in keeping with his wandering spirit. Defense Minister Gurragchaa — the only Mongolian to venture into space — settled on "Cosmos." And anthropology student Vanchigdash…

Modern technology helps reinvigorate traditional values

Published on October 21, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, Asia, books, religion cosmology, technology, Us and Them

The University of Chicago Press

An interview with anthropologist Jonah Blank, author of Mullahs on the Mainframe: Islam and Modernity among the Daudi Bohras. The Daudi Bohras are a unique denomination of Indian Muslims, with a worldwide population numbering up to one million.

“Perhaps the most important lesson the Bohras can teach outsiders is that Muslims can indeed embrace modernity while remaining true to their traditions and core beliefs.”

“Perhaps the most important way in which technology has bolstered traditional values has been by permitting Bohras around the world to have immediate and constant contact with the dai-ul-mutlaq (the spirtual leader of the community). Due to the dai’s crucial importance, Bohras have eagerly pounced on each new generation of communications technology—from fax to email to digital cellphones—to maintain close contact with the dawat (the Bohra clergy)”. >> continue

The University of Chicago Press

Japanese Cybercultures – Ethnographic Studies

Published on October 19, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, Asia, books, cyberanthropology, internet, technology

Leslie M. Tkach-Kawasaki, University of Tsukuba (Japan), Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies

What is your image of Japan? A technologically hip nation of cyber-savvy samurai? A land where culture can be both cute and conformist? In Japanese Cybercultures, editors Nanette Gottlieb and Mark McLelland challenge our perceptions of Japan and the Internet through a range of fascinating perspectives.

Adding to a growing body of ethnographic studies focusing on Internet use in different countries, the three thematic sections of the book — popular culture; gender and sexuality; and politics and religion — demonstrate how the use of the Internet is both entrenched in and changing various perspectives of daily life in Japan. >> continue

Leslie M. Tkach-Kawasaki, University of Tsukuba (Japan), Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies

What is your image of Japan? A technologically hip nation of cyber-savvy samurai? A land where culture can be both cute and conformist? In Japanese Cybercultures, editors Nanette Gottlieb…

A secret writing system used only by women in China’s Hunan province

Published on October 15, 2004 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, Asia, culture traditions, gender, language

The Straits Times Asia

MADAM Yang Huanyi, 98, died in a remote part of China’s Hunan province last month. There was nothing unusual about her death, except that she was the last person on Earth who had mastered a secret writing system used only by women in that region.

Today, the number of people who understand nushu well comes to less than 50 worldwide. Most of them live in Madam Yang’s Jiangyong county. The residents there want to exploit its potential as an attraction for tourists. This has alarmed linguists, anthropologists and other experts, who are worried that the ancient writing system will be defiled through such commercial exploitation.

Nushu, believed to have been invented almost 2,000 years ago, was used exclusively by women in western Hunan and parts of adjoining Guangxi region. (article no longer online)

MORE INFORMATION
A language by women, for women. Scholars try to save unique Chinese script (MSNBC / Washington Post)
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The Straits Times Asia

MADAM Yang Huanyi, 98, died in a remote part of China's Hunan province last month. There was nothing unusual about her death, except that she was the last person on Earth who had mastered a secret writing…