Business is the new livelihood of the urban Karamojong. However, the Karamojong face daily challenges as they struggle with already-established traders to attract customers in urban market settings. Previously, commercial banks had not addressed the needs of the Karamojong, who generally lacked collateral required to secure commercial financial services. However, with the introduction of microfinance ...

This thesis focuses on representations of gender in Sami reindeer herding in West Finnmark, Norway. I analyze to what extent are scholarly representations of gender accurate when compared to the local experience of modernization, by focusing on masculinity. This analysis builds on the history of Norwegian reindeer herding regulations from the Lapp Codicil to recent debates on the amendments to the ...

After the Sámi awakening movement in the 1970’s which culminated in the Alta conflict in 1981, the Sámi theater Beaivváš was created to highlight the Sámi language and culture in Norway. The theater became a success and was at first one of the main spokesmen for the Sámi people in the political and cultural contexts. As Sámi rights were recognized, Beaivváš and several Sámi institutions were established ...

In this Thesis, I endeavor to trace the migratory paths of the forebears of the Garífunas; explore their self-identification as Afro-Indigenous; study their culture of where “home” is at any given time; investigate their commonalities and fierce sense of nationhood even though their dwelling crosses four borders; and I examine their religious rites and rituals which connect them to the past and bind ...

While there have been numerous scholarly works on witchcraft beliefs, that of the phenomenon of ‘witchcamps’ are rare. In recent times, Ghana has come under the spotlight for being home to six settlements dedicated to sheltering ‘witches. These settlements are community-led initiatives that provide shelter for people accused of witchcraft. These ‘witchcamps’ are seen as a form of prisons where the ...

The special focus in this thesis is about the challenges of the indigenous peoples land rights in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh. Traditionally, indigenous peoples practiced jhum cultivation. The notion of the ownership of the land for the practices of jhum cultivation is distinct from wet-rice cultivation. The jhum cultivator must every year change the places to plant from one ...

This thesis work is mainly focused on the Garos’ cultural changes related to their marriage rituals and comparative situations. From a comparative perspective the study compared between a plain land Garo village, which is to some extent with some urban facilities, and a forest surrounded remote Garo village. The leading research questions are: ‘Why is the Garo culture changing?’ and ‘What are ...

This thesis, entitled “Changing ways of marrying: A study of the Dhimal marriage ritual of Damak, Nepal” focuses on changes in the marriage patterns of Dhimal indigenous people. Dhimal represent one of the oldest indigenous groups of Nepal, residing in the easternmost lowland since time immemorial. For the study, the choice was made for Damak municipality, which is inhabited mainly by the Dhimal and ...

Clothes and Ethnic Identity: (Re)Constructing Identity through Cultural Clothes as Ethnic Markers. The Case of Siltie Nationality of Southern Ethiopia is a project which investigates the new trends of “creating” costumes among ethnic groups in Ethiopia, with a focus on the interface between cultural costumes and ethnic identity. The project uses the Siltie people as its case. I am attracted to this ...

This thesis discusses Coastal identities in the modern age - the case of Storfjord in Northern Norway as studied in 2009. Populations in the coastal areas of Northern Norway are more or less a mixture of Coastal Sami, Kven and Norwegian. Historically, it might be analyzed as some results of the encounters of three ethnic groups; the Coastal Sami, Kven and Norwegian historically. Therefore, there is ...