Dept. of ethnologica, kerleone, July 8, 2003 at 11:33:13 AM CEST

Pop. Anthropology: Shuar Shrunken Heads

The history of the shuar is a website which has this title also a little bit to conceal that it's true target is to show some creepy shrunken heads. Via Das Kollektiv

... Link (1 comment) ... Comment

Dept. of ethnologica, kerleone, June 26, 2003 at 12:05:44 PM CEST

Tindale's Map of Aboriginal Group Boundaries

"Tindale's map of Aboriginal group boundaries at the time of European contact, published in 1974. Tindale worked on this map for fifty years. When he began that project during the 1920s the popular view was that Aboriginal groups roamed across the landscape, with no fixed territories. This map is therefore a crucial document in Australian cultural history; graphic evidence that no part of Australia was terra nullius, empty land." Via Map Room

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment

Dept. of ethnologica, kerleone, June 25, 2003 at 5:58:24 PM CEST

Inca Knot Script built on Binary Code similar to Computers??

Gary Urton, professor of anthropology at Harvard University, has re-analysed the complicated knotted strings of the Inca - decorative objects called khipu - and found they contain a seven-bit binary code capable of conveying more than 1,500 separate units of information. Read more at Independent.co.uk (english) or Telepolis (german). Via Schockwellenreiter

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment

Dept. of ethnologica, warauduati, June 17, 2003 at 4:29:12 PM CEST

Africa Fights To Reclaim Lost Art, Artifacts

Inspired by a presentation at the Institute of European Ethnology in Munich yesterday about exploitation of Jewish Art, I became more interested in the subject and just by case found a brand new article of National Geographic News of June 12th.

"The case is hardly uncommon. Africa has for years been losing its cultural heritage to looters, dealers, and sometimes even tourists looking for unusual souvenirs. The problem has become so severe that some types of African traditional and sacred objects have vanished completely from the continent, ending up in museums, universities, or private collections outside the continent."

... Link (2 comments) ... Comment

Dept. of ethnologica, warauduati, June 17, 2003 at 4:13:59 PM CEST

More about indigenous peoples in Brazil

Interested in the article Pop. Anthropology:... and the discussion of Ashaninka and Ashanti (ha), I searched for a general overlook of indigenous peoples in Brazil and thereby found an interesting page of the INSTITUTO SOCIOAMBIENTAL. The Page contains "Indigenous Narratives", "Projects and Partnerships", "Languages", "Indigenous Organizations", "Indigenous Policies", "Art", "Rights, "News" and an "Encyclopedia". As I said, a general overlook!

Available in Portuguese and English !

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment

Dept. of ethnologica, kerleone, June 16, 2003 at 1:09:42 PM CEST

Pop. Anthropology: Spiegel reports about some "not yet specified stone age people"

Matthias Matussek, chief editor in the Rio de Janeiro office of the the german news magazine Spiegel, reports about some deadly clashes between the Ashaninka Tribes and some smaller remote cultures in the brazilian rain forest. Obviously Matussek seems to have far more knowledge in biology and prehistory than in anthropology, as he uses widely the terms of those sciences, which on the other hand makes the article really fun to read.

... Link (10 comments) ... Comment

Dept. of ethnologica, kerleone, June 14, 2003 at 10:27:14 AM CEST

Pop. Anthropology: Claus Biegert, Ethno-Journalist

The Süddeutsche Zeitung writes today (in german) about Claus Biegert, the reportedly "most important" german journalist specialised in indigenous peoples. The article is more or less unknowingly treating the question of cultural exchange between western societies and indigenous ones, as well a the so often percepted fascination of the indigenous way of live as a alternative and a better one.

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment

Dept. of ethnologica, warauduati, June 6, 2003 at 2:18:00 PM CEST

"Diplomatie mit Samthandschuhen"

Today I read an interesting article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung about the supposed German involvement in East Africa. The article originates in the actual debate about European military action in the conflict areas of Uganda, Ruanda and Congo. Interesting to see here once again is the critical debate on how anthropology and development aid don't mix. Make your own opinions!

... Link (1 comment) ... Comment

Dept. of ethnologica, pachulke2, May 30, 2003 at 2:14:33 PM CEST

'Thousands of slaves in Sudan' - new report by the Rift Valley Institute

A Register of abductees confirms reality of slavery in Sudan. The report presents a list of 11.000 people who were abducted from rebel-held areas by tribal militias supported by the Sudanese Government. 10 000 of them are still missing. Most people were young man abducted from cattle camps where they were herding livestock. The raids mainly took place in the south-western district bahr al-ghasal. In the Christian south a rebellion against the Khartoum government has raged for almost 20 years.

Key statistical findings during the 20-year period covered in the research included the fact that:

-- 1,862 raids took place in which southerners were abducted; -- 5,148 people were recorded as having been killed in the raids; -- 60% of abductees were of abductees were under the age of 18 when they were taken; -- a majority of abductees were male; and -- in the worst affected village -- Ajok -- 101 adults and children were abducted in a single week.

Take a look at the whole story, or at its compact version.

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment

Dept. of ethnologica, kerleone, May 28, 2003 at 9:11:15 AM CEST

Evacuations planned as Papuan atolls sink

Papua New Guinean authorities are trying to convince thousands of Polynesians to abandon their homes on two atolls (Tulun/Carteret Islands and Takuu/Mortlock Islands) that appear to be sinking into the Pacific Ocean, reports ABC Online News.

... Link (0 comments) ... Comment

Dept. of ethnologica, kerleone, May 27, 2003 at 3:11:28 PM CEST

Getting Married In India

The swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung writes about matrimonial ads in newspapers of india. While it's still mainly the duty of the parents and relatives, to get someone married, the traditional way of contacting other parents face to face is decreasing, more and more Indians are searching with some special ads in newspapers, the author writes. If you are interested in this, you may take a look at the very popular indian matrimonial site shaadi.com. Totally uncommon for europeans is of course that you can browse the database by a huge variety of religions and castes. Via Hirnverbrannt

... Link (1 comment) ... Comment

Dept. of ethnologica, kerleone, May 23, 2003 at 12:57:44 PM CEST

Pop. Anthropology: Vodoo in Haiti

The german newspaper die Zeit: "In haiti, zombies aren't creatures out of a horror movie. Most haitians believe in the living death. Tracing the zombie in the land of vodoo." Nice, descriptive report from a journalist trying to understand (and to uncover) the vodoo phenomenon in haiti. Clever, that he also included the critical comments of the haitians about that attempt.

... Link (5 comments) ... Comment