The Oriental Anthropologist最新文献

{"title":"Wives at the Market Place: Commercialisation of Lobola and Commodification of Women's bodies in Zimbabwe","authors":"M. Chiweshe","doi":"10.1177/0976343020160202","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0976343020160202","url":null,"abstract":"T7tis paper provides an analysis of how the commercialisation oflobola has impacted women's bodies in present day Zimbabwe. The increased demand for money has led to a widespread belief that marriage payments are synonymous with buying a wife. This has far reaching consequences on gender relations especially in marriage women are left with little power to negotiate on issues such as safe sex or the use of family planning methods. This paper utilises qualitative document analysis focusing on purposively sampled texts from journals, books, on line sources, newspapers and magazines. It uses the concept of patriarchy to highlight how lobola entrenches the system of gender inequalities. The findings of the study show tltat lobola describes services or gC1ods given by a groom to !tis bride's family before a union is socially recognised. The practice has been commercialised in modern day Zimbabwean communities leading to negative implications for women yet the practice retains support of most people.","PeriodicalId":186168,"journal":{"name":"The Oriental Anthropologist","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131197833","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The “Unsaying” of Reproductive Affliction in Mozambique Witchcraft and Local Reproductive Knowledge","authors":"E. Mariano","doi":"10.1177/0976343020160207","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0976343020160207","url":null,"abstract":"The use of secret powers to harm others is considered to be an act of witchcraft. For many Mozambicans, witchcraft is also perceived as an involuntan; incorporation of alien flesh in the body (called \"kutshamiwa\"), thought to be a destructive force, which puts biological reproduction at risk. This article is based on an anthropological study on reproductive experiences conducted from 2009 to 2012 in Maputo and Gaza provinces, in southern Mozambique, that involved a total of 78 participants: 46 women, 11 men and 8 health professionals, and 13 traditional healers. In-depth interviews and life stories were combined with the observation of participants in biomedical environments, at the workplaces of traditional healers, and in the homes of those who were interviewed. The therapeutic itineraries of 11 infertile persons were extensively followed, and illness narratives were analysed. The general framework is borrowed from major medical anthropologr; theories, and employs a critical-interpretative perspective concerning health, disease, fertilihJ and the body. It draws on phenomenological traditions in which a woman's body is conceptualised not as a bare biological substrate of ill or good health, but as an existential ground of vital knowledge, embodiment, gender, motherhood and human fulfilment. In this article, the idea of\"unsaying\" is suggested, in reference to non-standard meanings of the experience of ill health, for which non-medical language and vocabulan; are used, and which the biomedical institution consequently ignores. However, both men and women experience greater empathy, and find a space in which to speak, and to reveal their afflictions and anxieties, among practitioners of traditional medicine. The study revealed that reproductive potential (conception, pregnancy and birth) is not always guaranteed and maintained, owing to a powerful malignant and invisible force, implanted in the body, called kutshamiwa. The experiences of the women who suffer from this problem, and the responses of therapists to this evil, mirror the multiple realities in existence within distinct and permeable universes of meaning. *Address for Communication: Esmeralda Mariano is Assistant Professor, in the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique. The Oriental Anthropol:ogist, Vol. 16, No. 2, 2016, Pages 303-320 © OICSR, Allahabad Corresponding Author E-mail: esmeraldamariano3@gmail.com 304 Esmeralda Mariano","PeriodicalId":186168,"journal":{"name":"The Oriental Anthropologist","volume":"3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121313364","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Stories of African Women's Bodies: The Bodily Lives of ESI and Mumbi","authors":"Loreen Maseno","doi":"10.1177/0976343020160204","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0976343020160204","url":null,"abstract":"The life stories of two young African women situated in the global South are narrated by African novelists Ngugi wa Thiong'o and Ama Ala Aidoo. This article explores the female bodily practice of Esi Sekyi in Changes: A Love Story by Am a A ta Aidoo and Mumbi in A Grain of Wheat by Ngugi wa Thiong'o in order to highlight sexual and gender politics in even;day life in Africa. Esi's ailing conjugal relations/zip with her husband Oko collapses when he rapes her. 'Mumbi gets pregnant by Karanja whilst her husband Gikonyo is in detention. Upon his release, Gikonyo becomes violent Oil Mumbi' s body. Using narratological text analysis and dialecticalliteran; theorizing, this article contextually situates Esi's bodily life to signijt; the dilemmas of women's autonomous sexuality in postcolonial societies. On the other hand, a life course approach to sexuality reveals Mumbi's bodily transitions and agency offering both cumulative advantages and disadvantages.","PeriodicalId":186168,"journal":{"name":"The Oriental Anthropologist","volume":"58 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124182013","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live”: Human rights implications of witch-hunts against women in South Africa and Zimbabwe","authors":"Kugara Stewart Lee","doi":"10.1177/0976343020160212","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0976343020160212","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examined the human rights implications of witch-hunts perpetrated against women in selected areas of South Africa and Zimbalnue. Historically, witch-hunts have been gender-based with large numbers of victims being womeu. Thus the gender dimension of the problem was carefully explored. The primary motivation for the study was to address the lack of updated laws and scholarly legal writing on witch-hunting related crimes. The study used 78 respondents in Zimbabwe and 68 respondents in South Africa. Literature review, fieldwork, black-letter law, senzi-stmctured interviews and case studies formed the basis of the research methodology employed. The study findings revealed that there is a long way to go before a semblance of gender equality is reached. It is acknowledged that the issue of witch-hzmting requires a holistic approach involving multiple stakeholders to make contributions in addressing this multidimensional phenomenon. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND OF STUDY A witch has been defined as a 'woman who is believed to have magical powers, especially to do evil things.' In Western folklore, she usually wears a black pointed hat and flies on a broom-stick (Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 2006). Down history, witchhunts have been seen as gender specific, with a large percentage of victims being elderly and solitary women (Alliance SA Review, 2007). This is why the word 'witch' itself has a feminine connotation. The masculine equivalent of a witch is wizard, a term which does not seem to conjure any evil suggestion. These witch-hunts and witch killings are not unique to Africa. They have been known to occur in Asia, America, Europe and Australia, and such killings generally follow a similar pattern (Levack, 1995: 1613, 1641). Witchcraft accusations in these places • Address for Communication: Stewart Kugara is post-doctoral scholar, University of Venda. The Oriental Anthropologist, Vol. 16, No. 2, 2016, Pages 399-416 © OICSR, Allahabad Corresponding Author E-mail: skugara@gmail.com 400 Kugara Stewart Lee are not restricted to elderly women but in periods of economic crisis, even young children have reportedly become common culprits (British Broadcast Corporation Online News, 2003) and many have been kicked out of their homes or killed by family members following household calamities and negative income shocks. The laws of South Africa and Zimbabwe uphold the position that witch beliefs and practices are not based on fact and are archaic hence, such beliefs are regarded as unreasonable. In Africa, the belief in witchcraft is strong, common and widespread. It is deeply entrenched in the psyche and consciousness of many African people. This belief has been in existence before the advent of colonialism on the continent. In African countries, this belief is cemented in popular mentality and informs and underscores social, politital and cultural practices (South Africa Pagan Alliance, 2010). These beliefs distinctively depict the opinion th","PeriodicalId":186168,"journal":{"name":"The Oriental Anthropologist","volume":"81 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130542411","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Sexual Health Needs of Learners in Makapanstad, Hammanskraal","authors":"R. Ngunyulu, Fhumulani Mavis Mulaudzi, M. Peu, O. Khumisi, M. Sethole","doi":"10.1177/0976343020160209","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0976343020160209","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of this article is to inductively explore and describe the sexual health needs of learners in Makapanstad, Hamnumskraal, using a phenomenological qualitative research design. Three themes and eight sub-themes were revealed during data analysis. Tlte identified main themes were: The sexual health needs ofleamers, contributonJ factors towards teenage pregnancy and the strategies to address the identified sexual health needs. It is concluded that teenage pregnancy is a serious lzealth concern due to inadequate parental guidance, and poverhJ. Parental involvement in sexual healtlz issues, free condom distn'bution, sex education in schools, homes and churches, use of technology and the use of stepping stones were suggested as strategies to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy. Further research should be conducted in order to explore other strategies that will possibly promote sexual health of learners in other South African schools.","PeriodicalId":186168,"journal":{"name":"The Oriental Anthropologist","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127553936","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Women Abuse under the Guise of Culture and Language Use: Women Narrate their Stories","authors":"Seepaneng S. Moloko-Phiri, Fhumulani Mavis Mulaudzi, T. Heyns","doi":"10.1177/0976343020160203","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0976343020160203","url":null,"abstract":"The authors would like to acknowledge University-based Nursing Education South \u0000Africa (UNEDSA) for the study grant that enabled them to conduct this research study, \u0000the Faculty of Health Sciences of the relevant institution for supporting this project \u0000financially and the participants for taking part in the project.","PeriodicalId":186168,"journal":{"name":"The Oriental Anthropologist","volume":"40 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131830741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigating the Role of Modern Practices on Women's Rites of Passage among the Vhavenda in Vhembe District, Limpopo","authors":"P. Matshidze, Mulaudzi T.P.","doi":"10.1177/0976343020160206","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0976343020160206","url":null,"abstract":"This article reflects on the effects of initiation of women in Thulamela in Vhembe district in the Limpopo Province. It analyses how the Venda community has changed in terms of practice of cultural rites. The main argument of the paper is that the infiltration of western values has significantly affected the beliefs and values of the Venda people. In this study data was collected through extensive review of priman; and secondary literature. It was triangulated by conducting in depth interviews with open-ended questions. A non-random sampling procedure was employed and a purposive sampling method used. Participants were selected based on experience and knowledge of the phenomenon. Data was collected through unstructured interviews which allowed for probing. The data was analysed using the thematic approach. The study findings show that initiation rites of passage of women still continues to be practised, but the moral value traditionally held has been altered bt; the modern dispensation including church influence, modern school education and human rights discourse. It has also been established from the data collected that initiation schools are pillars of moralihJ in our society.","PeriodicalId":186168,"journal":{"name":"The Oriental Anthropologist","volume":"38 4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125928417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rethinking Hegemonic Masculinity and Patriarchal Privilege Within Heterosexual Interpersonal Relationships","authors":"Gabi Mkhize, L. Njawala","doi":"10.1177/0976343020160211","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0976343020160211","url":null,"abstract":"Masculinity in the context of the majority of patriarchal societies within Africa is based on the hegemonic social position of men relative to that of women. Feminist studies on heterosexuality reveal that heterosexual interpersonal communication is often dominated by hegemonic masculinity in that it involves practices which promote patriarchal power and control, diminishing the interests of women and reinforcing women's oppression (Hearn, 2004). Based on a qualitative research study conducted in 2015 on HIV communication and gender equality among heterosexual (university) students' and their partners, we argue that in the context of HIV /AIDS communication between heterosexual partners, hegemonic masculinity perpetuates patriarchal privilege. The implications of this leave women vulnerable to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Given that the highest rate of HIV infection is attributed to heterosexual contact (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013), this paper focuses on heterosexual partners. However, we also argue that hegemonic masculinity does not only reinforce sexism (Connell, 2005) but is also usedconsciously or unconsciouslyas a tactic to perpetuate patriarchal stereotypes of -and even violence against -those gender and sexual identities considered inferior to those ascribed gender roles deemed normal and cultural in patriarchal societies.","PeriodicalId":186168,"journal":{"name":"The Oriental Anthropologist","volume":"58 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126816925","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Impact of Unemployment on the Sexual Behaviour of Male Youth in Quzini, Eastern Cape, South Africa: A Qualitative Study","authors":"J. Kheswa","doi":"10.1177/0976343020170104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0976343020170104","url":null,"abstract":"Drawing from Jahoda's deprivation theory, uuemployed male youth are prone to psychological distress and as a result they resort to drugs and alcohol abuse as a way to cope with discrimination. Owing to gender norms, they are inclined to be sexually aggressive and ven; often engage in unprotected sex to cover their feelings of emotional insecurities. The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of unemployment on the sexual behaviour of Xhosaspeaking male youth, aged 19-35, from Quzini Location, Eastern Cape, South Africa. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design was followed using focus group interviews. The purposively sampled fifteen unemployed males gave their informed consent to be interviewed. For trustworthiness of the study, the researcher met the Lincoln and Guba's principles, namely; credibility, dependability, confirmability and transferability. The respondents mentioned that thetj were patriarchal, abusive and involved in criminal activities owing to depression and lowself-esteem. Based on the findings, the recommendations are that the government and private sectors should create jobs aimed at reducing unemployment for unemployed youth and psycho-educational programmes that will equip them in the areas of sexual values and attitudes, communication and decisionmaking skills.","PeriodicalId":186168,"journal":{"name":"The Oriental Anthropologist","volume":"36 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115789258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reforming the Contemporary Education System of India: An Anthropological Perspective","authors":"R. Kundargi","doi":"10.1177/0976343020160111","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0976343020160111","url":null,"abstract":"Anthropology has the unique distinction of integrating both the scientific as well as the humanistic traditions into a single domain of institutionalized academic teaching. Speaking within the academic parlance, it has almost become a tautological truth to define the scope of anthropologt; as the \"study of man\" in all its totalih;. The word \"totalih;\" has turned out to be a problematic, especially when it comes to reforming our education systems. The current spate of globalization challenging this total itt; of mankind has brought with itself a rapidly burgeoning body of knowledge, endemic with enormous contradictions, discrepancies, potentialities and dangers; creating a maze, a predicament for people at-large who come from varying cultural backgrounds. Under these circumstances, there is an urgent need to not only to propagate the meaning and scope of this \"study of man\" to our peer group, but also emphasize the need for each and even; man of the society to study anthropologt;. The reason being that, anthropologt; has something profoundly relevant and vitally significant to offer, by providing a well rounded and balanced perspective for man, that is sustainable enough to take care of his future on earth. Therefore, an attempt is being made in the present paper to bring out the importance of sensitizing and engaging, not just the students but also the teachers and administrators who run our education system, in making the anthropological perspective an integral part of their training, at all the three levels of the system, that is, school, college and university, wherein an individual's personality is in its formative stages.","PeriodicalId":186168,"journal":{"name":"The Oriental Anthropologist","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126464704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}