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Social anthropology/ethnography

Ritual and symbol in transitional Zaramo society with special reference to women

Upphovsperson: Swantz, Marja-Liisa
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 1986
Ämnesord: Zaramo, Tanzania, East Africa, Anthropology, Ethnic groups, Rituals, Symbols, Social anthropology/ethnography, Socialantrolopologi/etnografi
...a learned, thoroughly researched thesis, yet, with a practical intention and message. ... As a researcher the author has lived for many years among the Zaramo people, with a dedicated intention to identify with their life, and this alone has made it possible to observe and interpret their symbolic life to the extent found here. (Bengt Sundkler in his foreword to the second edition.)

Land management and survival

Medarbetare: Hjort af Ornäs, Anders
Utgivare: Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 1985
Ämnesord: Land, Land management, Cultivated land, Interdisciplinary research, Conference papers, Social anthropology/ethnography, Socialantrolopologi/etnografi
This volume presents the papers read at the workshop arranged by the Scandinavian Institute od african Studies, in March 1985, with the theme "Land management and survival". The purpose of the workshop was to initiate an exchange of views over problems of interpretation. Two disciplinary perspectives were exchanged: one focussing on land, its uses and management, and the other one on people, their resources and lives.

Nomads who cultivate beauty : wodaabe dances and visual arts in Niger

Upphovsperson: Bovin, Mette
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2001
Ämnesord: Niger, West Africa, Anthropology, Nomads, Social anthropology/ethnography, Socialantrolopologi/etnografi
Why do young men use mirrors and make-up more than girls? Why do the Wodaabe nomads of West Africa have beauty parades for men? Wodaabe's extraordinary and unique live performances are often misunderstood by outsiders. The book provides some answers about these aesthetic activities. One answer is courtship and "wife-stealing ceremonies" involving enemy clans, another is ethnic identity. Beauty and existence are linked. Wodaabe dances and visual arts are not "exotic" but are arenas for social action and identity politics in the largely agricultural society of the arid regions of Niger, Nigeria and Chad. The author describes Wodaabe cultural choices as "active archaisation". Different art forms are analysed in the light of identity construction by the Wodaabe. Their elaborate cultivation of beauty in make-up, tattoos, body paintings, calabash carvings, embroideries, and architecture all follow the principle of symmetry and order in the cosmos. The author emphasizes the gendered aspects of social life and identity construction and explores masculinity among nomadic Wodaabe men, who are living sculptures displaying their beauty as a spiritual act, full of honour and dignity. The book has many colour photographs and examples of Wodaabe art.  

The camel in Somali oral traditions

Upphovspersoner: Xange, Axmed Arten | Abokar, Axmed Cali
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Mogadishu : Somali Academy of Sciences and Arts; Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 1987
Ämnesord: Somalia, East Africa, Somali language, Camels, Livestock, Anthropology, Social and cultural anthropology, Fiction, Oral tradition, Folk literature, Social anthropology/ethnography, Socialantrolopologi/etnografi
The relationship between the camel and the Somali people has traditionally been reflected in Somalia's oral literary forms: Poems, proverbs, work songs, metaphores and tales of wisdom. The author has gathered countless references to camels from these Somali traditions.

Navigating youth, generating adulthood : social becoming in an African context

Medarbetare: Christiansen, Catrine | Utas, Mats | Vigh, Henrik E.
Utgivare: Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2006
Ämnesord: youth, adolescents, children, Social environment, Living conditions, human relations, Social and cultural anthropology, case studies, Africa, Social anthropology/ethnography, Socialantrolopologi/etnografi
This book focuses on the lives and experiences of young people in Africa. On agents who, willingly or unwillingly, see themselves as belonging to the socio-generational category of youth and the ways in which they seek to shape and unfold their lives in a positive manner. Rather than seeing youth as either a social or cultural entity in itself, or as a predefined life-stage, the book argues for an exploration of how youth position themselves and are positioned within generational categories. In studying young people, social scientists must conceptualise youth as both social being and social becoming; a position in movement. It is from the duality of being positioned and seeking one's own socio-generational position that this book engages in the debate on contemporary African youth.

Diasporas within and without Africa : dynamism, heterogeneity, variation

Medarbetare: Manger, Leif O. | Assal, Munzoul A. M.
Utgivare: Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2006
Ämnesord: Migration, internal migration, Migrants, human relations, Africans, identity, diaspora, Social anthropology/ethnography, Socialantrolopologi/etnografi
The book deals with two types of “African diasporas”, the first of which originated in the migration histories of the Indian Ocean and brought new groups into Africa. This is illustrated by case studies of Hadrami communities in Sudan and Zanzibar, and the Malay community in Cape Town, that produced trade links as well as processes of Islamization. The second type originated with the failing African states and cases discussed are an Eritrean diaspora in Germany, alongside Sudanese diasporas in Norway and the USA, and a Somali diaspora in Norway. The papers deal with processes of homemaking, political mobilization in the diaspora through local organisations, religious networks and cyberspace nationalism. The central conceptual argument is that “diaspora” is not only a post-modern reaction to the xenophobia of Western nation states but must be seen as part of a broader history of human migration and intercultural experience. This calls for a perspective which takes into consideration historically produced variation and dynamism.

Adaptive strategies in African arid lands : proceedings from a seminar at the Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, Uppsala, Sweden, April 1989

Medarbetare: Manger, Leif O. | Bovin, Mette
Utgivare: Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 1990
Ämnesord: Sahel, Sudan, Ethiopia, East Africa, Environment, Agriculture, Arid zone, Adaption, Ethnic groups, Pastoralists, Economic conditions, Social anthropology/ethnography, Socialantrolopologi/etnografi
Adaptive strategies cannot be fully understood on the basis of environmental constraints alone. The essays presented in this book confirm this and provide material showing how environmental and socio-political processes interact in the making of adaption. The essays eludiate how manifestations of adaptability problems differ from region to region. such variations depend on the natural environment as well as the particular histories of development, socio-economic characteristics and the nature of the state. This collection of essays try to provide som answers to the problems emanating from different types of variation, and how they affect processes of adaption and change in African arid land.

Pastoral man in the garden of Eden : the Maasai of the Ngorongoro conservation area, Tanzania

Upphovsperson: Århem, Kaj
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet; University of Uppsala, Department of Cultural Anthropology
År: 1985
Ämnesord: Tanzania, East Africa, Masai, Social groups, Ethnic groups, Animal protection, Social and cultural anthropology, Social anthropology/ethnography, Socialantrolopologi/etnografi
The Ngorongoro Highlands and the serengeti Plains in nothern Tanzania are renowed for their abundant wildlife and scenic beauty. Ngorongoro is also the home of some 15,000 semi-nomadic Maasai pastorialists. Together with their herds of domestic stock they have for generations coexisted peacefully with the wildlife in the area. This book is an account of the pastoral community in Ngorongoro. Against the backdrop of national development policies and the history of wildlife conservation in the area, the book describes resource utilization and living conditions among the Ngorongoro Maasai.

Suugaanta Geela

Upphovsperson: Abokor, Axmed Cali
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 1986
Ämnesord: Somalia, East Africa, Somali language, Camels, Livestock, Anthropology, Social and cultural anthropology, Fiction, Folk literature, Oral tradition, Social anthropology/ethnography, Socialantrolopologi/etnografi
For centuries livestock have formed the backbone of the Somali economy. Camels are especially highly valued by Somali herdsmen. The practical uses of the camel have been eloquently described by Somalis in their extensive oral poetry, handed down through generations from father to son. It forms a complete literacy tradition composed of poems, proverbs, metaphors and tales of wisdom. The collection and preservation of Somali oral literature are important subjects that require urgent attention. This rich literature was transmitted to us orally from generation to generation. The cultural and historical life of the Somali people is reflected in this ancient oral data. The present collection of oral literature on the Somali camel is the result of an extensive research work. Oral literature has been one of the subjects studied by the "Somali camel research project", a bilateral undertaking between Somalia and Sweden (the Somali Academy of Sciences and Arts, SOMAC, and the Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with Developing Countries, SAREC).

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