Browsing Master's theses in indigenous studies by Title
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- Browsing Master's theses in indigenous studies by Title
Browsing Master's theses in indigenous studies by Title
-
Pyzhova, Anna (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, Oct-2011)[+][-]
Abstract: The thesis focuses on the identity of an unrecognized, small-numbered people in the northwestern part of Russia– the Pomor people (or Pomory). The thesis will examine the history of this group and how they came to be ‘fragmented’ from the main identity-forming process of the central Russian nation from the ninth to the 21st centuries. Using fieldwork materials, the thesis will present which identity markers are presented by Pomor activists today to support their claim for recognition. It will also analyze the main aspects of Russian national policies towards minority and indigenous groups. The thesis will examine why people in post-Soviet Russia are searching for a different type of identity structure that goes beyond citizenship. And how and why a fragmentation of identity occurs. The thesis further reflects on the difficulties and advantages of analyzing one’s own culture. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/3688 File(s) in this item: 1
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Das, Smritikana (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 15-Jun-2011)[+][-]
Abstract: Indigenous land access in Bangladesh is limited at local levels as well as national levels, since indigenous peoples have no political recognition and documentary evidence provided by the government. The present research attempts to uncover the level of indigenous people’s land access on what is believed to be their informally inherited common property. It deals with the history of land access of the Santal people in different periods, from early ages to present day, and at a glance gives some geographical perspectives on land access in the northern-belt of Bangladesh. Practical questions according to an in-depth inquiry, along with snow-ball sampling accompanied by available secondary data on Santal people’s land access have been analyzed to uncover some reasons for this land loss. This study also endeavors to analyze some consequences regarding the problematic land access of the present period marked by disputes between the government and indigenous communities. The study also explores trends of protest by indigenous peoples in order to reclaim their access to land. The study shows that indigenous people’s access to land has highly fluctuated throughout different periods, escalating in the post-independence time and taking a critical shape at present. External and internal complexities inter alia complicated government procedures, indigenous peoples’ limited understanding on land ownership, political manipulation, majority-minority conflict, and language barriers have caused major discriminations for the Santal people in achieving their expected access to land. As a result of problematic land access, mass poverty and continuing social complexities have degraded living conditions in indigenous communities, particularly in Santal areas of Bangladesh. The study suggests that indigenous people’s protest and revolt against the oppressions may become fruitful if concerted initiatives are taken at individual, national, community and non-governmental levels. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/3471 File(s) in this item: 1
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Cárdenas, Rosa Inquiltupa (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 07-Dec-2007)[+][-]
Abstract: In this thesis I discuss and show how the unequal distribution of water rights results in a deprivation of economic, social, and cultural prospects for the indigenous peoples in Chinchero. I attempt to illustrate that Peruvian water legislation does not belong to the same context as the indigenous people’s cultural perception. Firstly, the Peruvian legal context based on the national Constitution and its framework of laws does not work in a traditional culture background due to the ineffectiveness of water ownership in the indigenous territories. Secondly, the Ayllu is considered the indigenous’ unit institution as far as water management is concerned, and, thus, it shapes the cornerstone of a legal system that has been a model in an ancient Inca social structure or “collective community system of ownership”. It also demonstrates that indigenous people have practiced their own rules, characteristics and principles with regard to water. As an extension, a strong argument may be made based on the “Ayni” principle, which connects humans and water. How could the ILO Convention No. 169 warrant the rights to water for indigenous population in Chinchero? The answer to this question lies in articles 14 (land ownership) and 15 (natural resources ownership) of ILO Convention 169. It may also be explained in “Water Law and Indigenous Rights” (WALIR in regard to water self-determination). The above-mentioned international legal framework may be use as a local tool in terms of defending indigenous rights. However, this is the case only when those claiming these rights are aware of them, otherwise they become useless. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/1337 File(s) in this item: 1
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Rojas Hooker, Sandra Carolina (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 30-May-2008)[+][-]
Abstract: This thesis discusses the Justice Administration System in Karata and the influence of Positive Law over the Indigenous Law or vice versa. The research was based primarily on participatory observation, focus group discussion, interviews with key person and literature review regarding Indigenous law, legal pluralism and conflict resolution. The conclusions reached was that Justice Administration in Karata is carried out by an administrative body composed by the Wihta, Elders, Communal Police, Religious Leader and Director from the Primary School, with the responsibility to maintain peace and social harmony in the community by the use of sanctions and punishment based on their customs and traditions such as public shame, talamana – payment of blood and exile. The Indigenous System of Law has experienced transformations that are evidenced during the oral hearing by the incorporation of elements from the Positive System of Law such as the principles of orality, immediacy and publicity among others, that requires the Wihta to have basic legal knowledge, due to the coordination/collaboration existing between authorities of the Indigenous system and the Positive System of Law. In relation to the knowledge and understanding of the Indigenous System of Law and the Positive System, the community members are aware of the existence of the Positive Law and have basic knowledge of the Human Rights instrument. Yet, the members of the community prefer the Indigenous System of Law and use the Positive System as a last resort when they claim that their standard Human Rights have been violated in the Indigenous System. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/1544 File(s) in this item: 1
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Bekele, Workabeba Woldemelekot (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 30-May-2008)[+][-]
Abstract: It was around the beginning of November 2006. I was reading a book by Prof. Koen De Feyter World Development Law where I first see the term ‘indigenous peoples’. Two of the cases summarized in the book had taken my attention, i.e., the case of Mayagna (Sumo) Awas Tingni indigenous community of Nicaragua, and Ogoni people of Nigeria. The cases were brought at different regional human right courts of America and Africa, respectively. However, both cases involved TNCs complicity in human rights violations of indigenous communities namely, Sol del Caribe S.A. (SOLCARSA) in Nicaragua, and Royal Shell in Nigeria. Both allegations were also brought against the respective states. I keep wondering why the TNCs escape liability which becomes the basic research question for this thesis. The thesis is a critical legal analysis of TNCs human rights liability from the perspective of indigenous peoples human rights violations. The study analyses the problematic situation of TNCs liability in existing state-centered system of international law. It observes the particular weakness of the current system of international law when the human rights victims of TNCs happened to be indigenous peoples. The study also analyses the effectiveness of different attempts made by international organization, corporations and civil society groups towards imposing human rights liability on TNCs. Despite the lack of legal bite and enforceability, the study founds the lack of sensitivity to indigenous peoples human rights in such emerging regulatory and voluntary initiatives which are categorized broadly as soft-laws, self-regulations and social initiatives. This study argues for a binding international law on TNCs as an ultimate solution, but it also equally argues for increased concern to indigenous peoples human rights as an indispensable issue in corporate human rights discourse. In this regard the thesis offers some general and transitional policy measures. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/1534 File(s) in this item: 1
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Silwal, Manisha (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 15-Jun-2011)[+][-]
Abstract: This thesis entitled “MATERNAL HEALTH CARE PRACTICE AMONG INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF NEPAL: Case Study of The Raute Community” tends to highlight on the use of traditional knowledge by the Raute people during the three stages of maternal period. The Rautes are regarded as one of the endangered Nomadic indigenous group. For the study, a locality named Satokhani and Pamka of Surkhet distric in Bheri Zone of Nepal, in which the Raute group had recently been migrated from Dadeldhura district. Maternal health care encompasses the health of a woman during three stages of maternity. This study recount experiences around pregnancy, childbirth and after childbirth of the Raute mother and tends to draw attention towards some of the complications and problems faced by the Raute mothers. This study shows that complications like, miscalculation of due date, problem in delivering baby, even the death of baby and different types of illness after the delivery have been facing by the Raute women. The study has been conducted in order to identify the reason behind the Raute women not getting modern health facility. Two different reasons can be draw in this study. The first and for most reason of devoid of modern maternal health is the rejection of Raute people to utilize any kind of things which will connect them with outer world. The next reason can be the inability of Government of Nepal to deliver such services that ILO convention and Un Declaration has addressed. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/3448 File(s) in this item: 1
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Islam, Md. Rakibul (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 31-May-2010)[+][-]
Abstract: Maternal health of indigenous people is poorer than the non-indigenous people across the world which is also true in the Bangladesh context. However, little research has been done among indigenous people in Bangladesh. As a result, the present study was conducted among the Mru indigenous people to comprehend their maternal health status and the factors associated with it. The study was carried out in three upazilas (administrative sub-districts) namely Alikadam, Lama and Thanchi of the Bandarban district and a part of CHT, the south-eastern part of Bangladesh where most of the Mru people live. In this research, a mixed method approach, combining both qualitative and quantitative methods, was employed. A total of 374 currently married women having at least one child aged less than five years old or women having at least one delivery experience were interviewed purposively from three upazilas. On the other hand, a total of 26 in-depth interviews were conducted among people from different stratas of the Mru community from those three upazilas. Finally, the collected data was presented using uni-variate, bi-variate and multivariate analyses. The study showed that maternal health was poor among the Mru women and less than one-third of the Mru women had access to health care services which might be one of the key reasons for their poor health. Their access to maternal health care services was beyond geographical, linguistic, cultural and economic reach. By and large, the major problems and complications Mru women faced during their pregnancy, delivery and after delivery were headache, blurry vision, high blood pressure, cough or fever, excess vomiting tendency, morning sickness, excessive hemorrhage, obstructed labour, prolonged labour, eclampsia, premature rupture of membrane, anemia, post-partum hemorrhage, perineal tears and swelling of the legs and body. The study also revealed that one out of every nine women visited for antenatal care while only one out of sixteen women visited for postnatal care in the Mru society. More than half of the respondents reported that they did not receive any antenatal or postnatal care due to the long distance to the service center as well as lack of transportation facilities. The study also demonstrated that delivery care and current use of contraception were also low among the Mru mothers as compared to xiii Bengali mothers. Almost all deliveries were home-based deliveries assisted by traditional midwives. About forty per cent of the respondents have heard of family planning methods and only one-fourth of them were current users of contraceptives. The factors associated with low antenatal and postnatal cares and contraception use were age, mothers’ education and occupation, husbands’ education and occupation, religion, place of residence, place of service provided in the locality, distance of the service centers and exposure to mass media of radio, television and newspaper. Maternal mortality also seemed to be higher in the community due to the delivery practices done by the traditional midwives. Traditional beliefs and practices after delivery were also responsible for their high deaths rate. This high maternal morbidity and mortality rate in the Mru society was interwoven with multiple factors that could be classified into three major aspects. First, socio- economic and cultural factors were functioning through their effect on the Mru mothers. Secondly, spatial factors which include geographic settings and proximity and road infrastructure was one of the significant constraints to access to health care services resulting in poor health. Finally, clinical factors that consist of every aspect of obstetric knowledge and education of both women and midwives and availability of care were totally absent in the society. This maternal morbidity and mortality was somewhat consistent with the historic experiences of western countries in seventeenth and eighteenth century. The present study is concluded with urgent requests for implementation of special health care strategies. For instance, the development of obstetric care and maternal health programs, replacement of existing traditional midwives by well-trained midwives, community-based collaborative strategy and most importantly to train the young Mru girls as midwives, particularly those that are bilingual and educated. Along with this significant strategy, socioeconomic development, Mru language- based maternal health education and family planning programs with a special emphasis on awareness through mass media may have a significant influence on maternal health status of the Mru community. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/3538 File(s) in this item: 1
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Aambø, Kristian Osnes (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 20-Feb-2012)[+][-]
Abstract: The thesis is a case study about the Goliat oil development off the coast of Finnmark, in the North of Norway. The Arctic is opening up for oil and gas development, however, demands from the public and from international actors that the oil companies operate in a sustainable and responsible manner have led the oil companies to use principles of corporate social responsibility in their operations. These CSR initiatives opens up for the local actors to have influence over the development process. In this case study, the oil company, Eni Norge has started dialogues with the local municipalities and the Sami Parliament. The thesis investigates and compares these dialogues to find differences in how these local actors related to the development process. For the Sami Parliament—which through ILO Convention 169 and their status as an indigenous peoples have a right to be consulted in oil and gas development by the Norwegian State—the dialogue with Eni Norge opens another possibility to influence the process. The new possibilities for dialogue may become another alternative for influencing the development process or a complimentary processes to the consultations the Sami Parliament have with the state. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/4064 File(s) in this item: 1
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Mundu, Bineet J. (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, Nov-2006)[+][-]
Abstract: This thesis, ‘On the Future of Indigenous Traditions: The Case of Adivasis of Jharkhand, India’ on the whole by making it a case study brings a focus on the Adivasis as the indigenous peoples of India. It touches upon a few important historical facts of the groups of Adivasis now located in the central-east part of country. Additionally it goes on into the sources that determine their traditional institutions, which play an important role in their social and cultural administration. These institutions also manifest their social cultural identity that these groups of people are the historical communities who need their due recognition to assert their collective rights within the present nation-state. This focused case touches upon different perspectives on the collective rights vis-à-vis state’s individual rights issue. This thesis brings forth the conceptual and practical realities of Adivasis’ institution and its relevance today. The customary social-cultural institution of the Adivasi peoples, symbiotically linked to the cycles of nature reflected in their cultural practices, evolves a politics that needs to be studied in the discourse of the modern nation-state. This thesis gives an introduction to the issue of Adivasis’ identity as the research problem within its own limitation and the use of methodologies. To start with, it deals with different sets of sources, which determine that the Adivasi are the indigenous peoples of the country. At the same time it explains how Adivasis distinctiveness is signified and represented through their existing customary practices. However, their customary practices have become less influential due to historical reasons in contemporary period. Within this reality the role of State and its impact on the Adivasis is also discussed. It further discusses with the political association of the Adivasis that is derived from their customary practices and the benchmarks in the present national legislative system. This includes the conflict of their communitarian identity with the society at large and the State. The main focus henceforth is on the strengths of customary system in the reality of the legal system of the State. The empirical data supplements the above positions taken with case illustration and analysis. The study concludes with a discussion on broader issues, issues which has affected the basis of the customary practices of the Adivasis and gives an analysis with findings indicating certain area which the thesis identifies it to be considered for further research in the academic discourse. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/1291 File(s) in this item: 1
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Landerer, Evelyn (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 08-Aug-2009)[+][-]
Abstract: This thesis aims to contribute to our understanding of human-reindeer relations among nomadic hunters and reindeer keepers and is based on a discussion of manifestations of personhood in Siberia. I then relate these to contemporary theories in human-animal relations and argue that in the case of this research setting, these relations exceed notions of symbiotic domestication and social contracts. I discuss this topic within the context of Evenki hunters and reindeer breeders living in Katangskiy Rayon, the northernmost district of Irkutskaya Oblast, Russia. I argue that lack of collectivization in this area together with the absence of the notion of reindeer as commodity aimed towards a centralized (Soviet times) or market economy has led to the development of interpersonal companionship in the forest based on respect for the individuality and intentionality of the reindeer. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/2241 File(s) in this item: 1
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Hoque, Abdul (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 23-Aug-2006)[+][-]
Abstract: Sustainable livelihood means to live with the close harmony without losing ecosystem both in economical, social, environmental and cultural elements. Or other ways we can say live without the degradation of economical, social, environmental and cultural elements of an indigenous group is sustainable livelihood. Radio has the strong role in the sustainable livelihood of indigenous people. Mother language is the most powerful instrument of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. Promoting the recognition and practice of mother language media, especially radio, has its distinctive role. Radio is the cheapest and easiest, strongest and personal medium that can be useful every moment of a person’s life, though he/she is at works. So the radio has an impact on the indigenous people’s sustainable livelihood. ‘Sal Gittal’ is one of the programme broadcast from Bangladesh Betar, Dhaka for the Garo people. Within last thirty years they have had enormous benefit like lyricists, singers, artists come from them, they could present their language and culture in the national radio, which gives them inspiration to protect and flourish their culture and heritage. On the other hand Rakhaing, has no radio programme of their own. So their language and culture has no significant development, even diminishing day by day. Some of the Rakhaing people are now trying to retrieve their language, culture and heritage. Study findings showed that the Rakhaing feel them excluded from the world; and only a single programme in radio can give them a feeling of being a member of the world. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/156 File(s) in this item: 1
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Amanor, Aaron Kweku (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 15-May-2010)[+][-]
Abstract: This study examined reflections and dilemmas on HIV/AIDS and condom use among young adults living at Akuse in the Eastern region of Ghana. The main objectives of this study were to find out the factors that hinder condom use in the study area, examine the awareness of young adult of HIV/AIDS and condom use as well as explore religious affiliation and gender views in relation to condom use. The study focused on the young adult in Akuse in the Lower Manya district. The analysis of the data was done based on the theoretical perspectives of risk, diffusion, structuration, and gender relations. Semi structured interviews were used as a qualitative tool to conduct this study on a sample of 20 young adults. The study indicated that condom and HIV/AIDS awareness among the young adults were high while the common avenues from which they receive information on condom use and HIV/AIDS were through; the radio, followed by television, mobile van, religious leaders and newspapers. The study also examine these factors as hindering the use of condom: lack of fear for HIV/AIDS, societal norm and perceptions about sex issues, lack of power for women to negotiate for condom use, religion and beliefs of the society, practical factors, cultural factors, poverty and institutional factors. The study indicated that both men and women advocate the use of condom for HIV/AIDS prevention. However men were more unwilling to use condom as compared to women whiles Christian and Muslim affiliate advocated for condom use in this era of HIV/AIDS. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/4368 File(s) in this item: 1
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Biressu, Abiyot Negera (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 15-May-2009)[+][-]
Abstract: This thesis deals with resettlement and local livelihoods in Nechsar National Park, in Southern Ethiopia. It asks three main questions: Why is resettlement of the Guji out of Nechsar National Park emphasized? What are the arguments? What is the relation between the park and its natural resources and the Guji livelihoods? What is the place and right of local communities in natural resource management in the national political context? To answer these questions, data was collected through fieldwork that involved the collection of both oral and written sources. Qualitative analysis of the data shows that the Guji in Nechsar area are dependent on the natural resources of the park for their livelihoods, as they get key resources like water and pasture for their cattle from there. Despite this, park development projects in Nechsar National Park have emphasized resettlement of the Guji out of the park. The move with which the park tried to implement the resettlement was more coercive than participatory and consensual, despite government decentralization policy’s recognition of the importance of local communities’ participation in natural resource management and the protection of their livelihoods, in case environmental projects impact them. Such emphasis on the resettlement of the Guji out of the park is embedded within conservation ideology, perception of mode of life of the Guji and local political contexts. In view of the fact that emphasizing on the financial and environmental aspects of protected area management to the neglect of its social dimension causes problems both to the resource users and the wildlife, the thesis recommends the pursuance of double sustainability, in which the protection of the environment and local livelihoods should be emphasized simultaneously, in line with Cernea and Schmidt-Soltau (2006). URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/2060 File(s) in this item: 1
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Pedersen, Ivalu Søvndahl (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 15-Nov-2009)[+][-]
Abstract: Many indigenous peoples’ languages in the world are endangered. But the special case in Greenland is the fact that Greenlandic is not an endangered language, even though less than 56,000 people speak Greenlandic. In fact, Greenlandic is spreading in Greenlandic society. The challenge in Greenland is rather how to educate Greenlanders to become functionally bilingual in Greenlandic and Danish, considering the vast varieties of bilingual skills that exist. Greenland has been a Danish colony since 1721 but achieved Home Rule in 1979 and an increased form of self-determination called ‘Self Rule’ in 2009. With the introduction of Self Rule the Greenlandic language has raised its status and become the official language in Greenland. Greenland is dependent on the annual block grant that it receives from the Danish state. In order for the country to create a self-sustaining economy, Greenland needs to invest in education. Today it is crucial for young Greenlanders wanting a further education to learn Danish, because Greenland lacks educational material and books in Greenlandic. But the amount of people who receive a further education is limited due to lack of Danish skills. The amount of people who will go on to receive further education in the future is crucial in the process of increased self-determination. Analysing official documents at macro level, i.e. at government level, this Master’s thesis studies the sociolinguistic paradoxes within the contemporary official language policy and planning situation in Greenland, concentrating primarily on language education policy in Greenlandic state schools. Factors affecting language policy in Greenland are those of: history, decolonisation, language emancipation, self-determination, nationalism, ideology and power. This Master’s thesis argues that one of the critical issues in official Greenlandic language policy is the absence of a clear definition of the status and role of the Danish language in Greenlandic society, which needs to be clarified more professionally at legislative, political and pedagogical levels. The second critical issue is the approach to an effective bilingual education system where pupils become functionally bilingual. Additionally there is a the lack of defining terms such as mother tongue, second language, foreign language, bilingualism and multilingualism in depth in a Greenlandic context; terms which ought to be used in a more adequate and conscious manner by policymakers and pedagogical leaders. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/2397 File(s) in this item: 1
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Leonenko, Anastasia (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 04-Apr-2008)[+][-]
Abstract: The International Indigenous Riddu Riđđu Festivála has taken place every year since 1991 in Manndalen, a Coastal Saami hamlet, in the municipality of Kåfjord in the county of Troms in the North of Norway. The festival represents by itself an independent event that through indigenous management and developed ethno-relations inside the country, promoting the idea of cultural awareness and sensitivity to all ethnic groups, however different they might be, and support them in terms of preservation of their culture, language, and lifestyle in our global and developed world. This thesis is intended to show the ambiguity and complexity of the Coastal Saami identity in Manndalen, not only with relation to Norwegians, but also with reference to the situation among locals, between adults and youth, traditions and modernity. In other words, which relations between traditions and modernity does Riddu Riđđu demonstrate? Therefore this thesis will try to find out the relation of manndalinger to the cultural invention and show their chosen way of the invasion of traditions and how far they accept distortions as authentic to their heritage during the process of cultural invention and which sign-substitutions can be defined in relation to Coastal Saami culture today. Moreover, the purpose of this thesis is to understand the process by which means invented portions of culture acquire authenticity. In other words, how the social reproduction of culture – the process whereby people learn, embody, and transmit the conventional behaviours of their society (Hanson 1989:898) – is happening in the Coastal Saami community today. Therefore the Riddu Riđđu festival will be considered further as one of the examples of Coastal Saami cultural invention with the purpose of revitalization an ethnic identity. Thus, the Riddu Riđđu festival can be seen as a visible tool in Manndalen’s process of ethnic revitalisation. In this case, can the festival be considered as an example of an imagined community (Anderson 1983), created as a cultural arena for the Saami political debates and bringing Saami people, the young and the old generation, together? Further, the festival can be seen as an important tool in the process of Coastal Saami ethnic revitalisation with perspectives on northern indigenous and in general world community nowadays. What is the role of this imagined community for its participants? What challenges do manndalinger have in creating both a local and a global symbolic community? This master thesis is tended to bring up questions for further discussions and become one of the colourful pieces in the mosaic of understanding the Riddu Riđđu festival and its role in the revitalisation of Saami identity. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/1579 File(s) in this item: 1
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Ansoglenang, Gilbert (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 23-Aug-2006)[+][-]
Abstract: In an attempt to alleviate poverty and empower poor people, many NGOs and government line agencies have been providing credit and social services to rural women in the Lawra District of Ghana. The essence of these credit schemes is to help the rural poor, especially women, earn a decent living through their on-going income generating activities (IGA). The study emphasized that rural women play an important role in the provision of domestic welfare. Many women resort to multiple occupations in order to satisfy the welfare needs of their household members. While these women are engaged in several paid activities simultaneously, they still perform their unpaid and gendered domestic activities. It was realized that women have assumed certain household responsibilities, which were formerly men’s gender roles, such as providing money and other material resources for house keeping. These added responsibilities have afforded rural women a rare voice in household decision-making processes. A derived benefit of empowered women was that they spoke for their men folks; women advocated for jobs and credit schemes for men in their communities. The study concluded that micro-credit schemes help reduce rural poverty and empower women. Despite the enhanced and visible roles assumed by these women due to the credit schemes, there were serious operational lapses: the loans given to the women were inadequate to start and run any viable IGA, leading these social actors to refer to the loans as ‘chop money’ and not ‘business money’ (money sufficient to start with a viable business). Lack of formal education, time, improved technology and ready market for products, which often run down rural enterprises, still persisted and thereby reducing the women’s current productivity relative to their evident potentials. In the light of this, inter alia, the study made the following recommendation towards the empowerment of women: an appreciable increase in the loans, prioritizing girl-child education, developing and encouraging the use of appropriate technology, and engendering the loan scheme or helping rural women side-by-side their men folk. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/310 File(s) in this item: 1
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Dangol, Niraj (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, Nov-2010)[+][-]
Abstract: This thesis tends to highlight on the traditional social organization being practiced by the Newar people of Kathmandu valley of Nepal since the ancient times. Newar people are regarded as the indigenous population of Nepal inhabiting the Kathmandu valley since the pre-historic times. For the study, a locality named Panga of Kirtipur city has been chosen which is inhabited mainly by the Jyapu castes of Newar people who are traditionally agriculturists according to the caste division formed during the 14th century. Guthi, the traditional social organization, can be classified into various categories according to their functionalities among which, Sana Guthi is regarded most popular and the important one. Among the various functions performed by the Sana Guthi, death rituals are regarded extremely important from religious as well as social point of view. During death, numerous religious rituals have to be conducted properly by the family as well as Sana Guthi in order to ensure the soul to rest in peace. Not only death rituals, various religious festivals also have to be conducted by the Sana Guthi. In this study, two of such festivals conducted by Shree Bhairabnath Ta: Guthi of Panga have been studied in details. The study has been conducted in relation to modernization; for which the changes that have occurred or occurring these days have also been observed closely. Impacts of modernization are leading to the change of such rituals. Not only rituals, modernization is leading the whole society towards a new dimension. So, basically this study aims to identify the impacts of modernization on Newar communities and such traditional social organizations being practiced by them. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/3006 File(s) in this item: 1
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Zhirkova, Sargylana (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 29-Aug-2006)[+][-]
Abstract: The present state of the traditional culture of indigenous people in Russia can characterised as critical. It is well known that education was used as a main tool for acculturation and assimilation of non-Russian ethnic groups during the policy of Russification. In recent time the revitalisation of the indigenous minority culture stimulates a process of bringing back the nomadic schools. The nomadic school is defined as a special type of elementary school which was adapted to the extreme northern conditions of Siberia: this model started under the Soviet in the 1920's and 1930s. This type of school moves with reindeer herders and it makes the school accessible for the children of nomadic people. It seems strange that in a modern time the indigenous people decided to return not only to their traditional culture but also to the type of schooling which was used by their parents. The first nomadic school in Russia was created in the 1930s and now this kind of school starts to work again in nomadic communities. I have decided to write about the nomadic school because education is an important aspect of life of the indigenous people: it opens doors for indigenous people. Today the nomadic school is a new educational institution for the indigenous nomadic children. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/158 File(s) in this item: 1
thesis.pdf (6.776Mb) -
Hætta, Anne Karen (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 01-Sep-2010)[+][-]
Abstract: This thesis discusses Sámi traditional healing knowledge regarding the debate of preserving traditional knowledge, and aims to examine the management and the challenges of transformation of it in a particular Sami community: namely the Marka villages in southern Troms and northern Nordland, Norway. Traditional healing knowledge is held secret or esoteric, which means that only a line of individual traditional healers gets access to it. This study argues that it is, however, the local community or the users who are managing the knowledge by forming norms and values, by recognizing individual traditional healers and by giving their knowledge legitimacy. Traditional healing knowledge is transmitted from generation to generation, and it is the individual possessor of knowledge who determines what kinds of qualifications their successor should have. Some of the knowledge possessors had, however, the experience that younger generations do not have interest in traditional healing, and that this limits the number of candidates who they could chose to transmit their knowledge to. The reasons the younger generations give for not being willing to accept traditional healing knowledge are grounded in what the possession of the knowledge implies and what the social role as a traditional healers involves. As traditional healing knowledge can be regarded as secret knowledge with a strong connection to the local community and the users, this thesis argues that ex situ preservation would not be a preferred strategy for maintaining it. Instead one should put efforts into preserving traditional healing knowledge in the existing management system in situ. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/2680 File(s) in this item: 1
thesis.pdf (2.237Mb) -
Marambanyika, Ocean (Master thesis; Mastergradsoppgave, 06-Jun-2008)[+][-]
Abstract: This thesis principally deals with issues of social identity management and integration amongst African refugee minorities in Norway. Employing an analytical strategy, the thesis explores varying complex and inter-related situations faced by indigenous African refugees in Norway and how these situations presents challenges in social identity management by the refugees. This piece of work specifically focuses on analyzing how the refugees in question employ social identity management variables like ethnicity, regionalism, language, religion, food, clothing, gender, music and imagined idealizations in managing their social identities. The thesis argues that different situations in the refugee`s host community and the camp environment have impacted into the refugees, dispositions to act differently depending with the objective and extricate demands of the varying situations. Integration as a practical concept has been equally co-opted into the thesis with a design to analyse the impact of integration programmes on refugee social identity management processes. The Kvæfjord Commune, in collaboration with some civil society organizations in its municipality has fashioned some integration programmes in an endeavor to integrate the refugees into the mainstream societal functionalisms. It is nevertheless argued that the outcomes of such integrative approaches has created complex and over-lapping conditions which have multi-directionally impacted on the refugee social identity management processes. Whilst recognizing and building on related works on ethnicity and social identity, the thesis finds a unique position by venturing into the study of a multi-nationalized inter-continental refugee camp set-up which has been minimally deliberated upon especially with regard to the social identity management arena. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/1549 File(s) in this item: 1
thesis.pdf (7.330Mb)
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