Anthropology Today最新文献

Victory Day celebrations in Russia have frequently been characterized as a vehicle for state militarism, particularly in the context of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This article challenges the notion that the state is the sole proprietor of this national holiday. Drawing on recent ethnographies of Victory Day, the article argues that a trend towards patriotic performativity increasingly defines public celebrations. This trend has two outcomes: strengthening participants’ sense of national community while reinforcing statist discourse – even among the holiday's critics. By examining the relationship between the Russian state and Victory Day, the article illuminates the crucial distinction between a reiterated, performative victory and the realities of actual warfare. This analysis contributes to broader discussions on collective memory, state power and the role of public celebrations in shaping national identity in post-Soviet contexts.

This article explores the symbolic significance of numbers in Vietnam's underground lottery game, đề, based on ethnographic fieldwork in Ho Chi Minh City. It investigates how players interpret everyday events and dreams through numbers, creating a unique blend of personal and cultural symbolism. These number symbols function both publicly within the game's subculture and personally, resonating with broader anthropological discussions on the role of symbols in life narratives and cultural performances. By attaching numerical significance to mundane occurrences, players gain a sense of agency and foster shared cultural understanding. The article situates the lottery game within the broader context of Vietnamese culture, emphasizing the crucial role of numbers in daily life and calling for further exploration of numerical practices in Vietnamese society.

This article examines the worship of Dr José Tomás Sousa Martins, a 19th-century physician revered as a lay saint and healer in Portugal, attracting devotees from diverse backgrounds. Some devotees come in search of healing and leave votive offerings at his statue in front of the NOVA Medical School in Lisbon. Others view him as a spirit guide who manifests through mediums in Umbanda practices and the healing rituals of the Spiritualist Christian temples of the Vale do Amanhecer in Brazil. Dr Sousa Martins bridges the domains of spirituality and biomedicine. This article explores the materiality of devotional practices through the circulation of things and images and the intersection of therapeutic itineraries in shaping places of worship. It examines how healing is sought through devotion during health crises, emphasizing the importance of the senses and religious and diagnostic images in devotees’ healing narratives.

This article explores the use of camera traps as novel research agents in studying human-animal interactions and animal behaviour. Drawing on case studies from ecological research in India and ritual practices in Thailand, the authors examine how camera traps transform methodologies across the natural and social sciences and ask what these technologies reveal about animal responses to human presence and the cognitive underpinnings of their behaviours. Using Actor-Network-Theory frameworks and more-than-human philosophy, the authors argue that camera traps are not passive recording devices but active participants that shape the multispecies realities they observe. The case studies illustrate how animals learn to recognize and respond to camera traps, demonstrating situational awareness, evaluative cognition and adaptive learning. The authors advocate for an interdisciplinary approach to studying human-animal interactions that accounts for the agentive capacities of both humans and nonhumans, including technological agents like camera traps. This article contributes to ongoing discussions in ethology, anthropology and cognitive science about the use of remote imaging in field research and the conceptual and ethical implications of technological interventions in more-than-human lifeworlds.

The Vietnamese public increasingly attribute the rise in cancer and chronic diseases to factors such as environmental pollution, food safety issues and contemporary lifestyles. This article examines these perceptions through interviews with individuals living with chronic conditions, their caregivers, and adherents of a macrobiotic diet − an alternative health approach. The study reveals a prevailing belief that illnesses manifest anthropogenic impacts within the human body, signifying the detrimental effects of human-induced environmental changes. The advocated solution, encapsulated in the macrobiotic diet, is viewed as a ‘return’ to more natural living. This approach is not merely dietary but also symbolizes a broader philosophical shift towards ‘de-anthropogenizing’ – a concerted effort to cleanse the body of environmental impurities caused by human actions. The macrobiotic practice, therefore, represents more than a health strategy; it embodies a profound desire to realign human activities with natural processes. This study underscores an emergent narrative in Vietnam where health recovery and environmental stewardship converge, advocating for a respectful, harmonious coexistence with nature. The findings highlight the complex interplay between public health, environmental consciousness and the search for alternative solutions in the face of mounting concerns over the impact of modernization on individual and collective well-being.