Anthropology forum
Anthropology and Gender Studies |
hooligan
20-08-2007 01:20
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At the workshop, the participants will present and discuss women's ritual participation and devotional practices. The aim is to broaden our understanding of women's devotional life, as well as calling attention to its relation to general social change.
Most presentations are based on field research. This gives a unique opportunity to discuss methodological challenges related to gender issues and field research, to which we will dedicate one discussion session.
In the recent years there have been a series of reports and a literature from female/male researchers reporting the influence of the researcher's gender on the anthropological and ethnographical process in fieldwork. Warren (C.Warren. 1988, Gender issues in field research. Qualitative Research Methods Series No.9.London) has stated the matter in her review of gender issues in ethnographic research: "all knowledge is gendered".
Documentation of the influence of gender on the anthropological research process has been almost always undertaken by female researchers. Some of these reports describe cross-gender fieldwork relationships, where the researchers are female and the subjects are male. Here, there is often a fine line between the insider and the outsider. Whether Oriental, African or Polynesian - the anthropologists and ethnographers are often, if not always, the 'other' - in their fieldworks.
It is also important to address the relation between gender and field research in an Islamic research context. In the Islamic world, especially in Shiite countries and societies, social researchers, anthropologists and ethnographers do encounter many problems regarding their field research and activities. This matter increases when they want to work on female rituals, ceremonies, and social group activities.
This challenge is created by the fact that, contrary to male religious manifestations, commonly performed outdoors and sometimes indoors, female religious manifestations are mostly performed indoors. It is a space into which one has to negotiate access, and the gender of both the social actors and the researcher becomes a topic.
In our workshop the speakers will describe their perception of how their male/female gender has influenced their field work in a number of participant observational studies conducted by themselves in the last few years. They will talk about the 'confessional' mode of ethnographers' tales of the field.
 
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Re: Anthropology and Gender Studies |
emerson
20-08-2007 01:20
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My paper will discuss some of the rituals and devotional practices of Shi'at women in Punjab (Pakistan), the main focus being on the Majlis (lamentation assembly). My approach will be sociological rather than ethnographic or anthropological. I will first describe the main features of the women's Majlis and the transformations of practices and meanings observed since the Iranian revolution by comparing a "traditional" Majlis and a "reformed" one. Then I will try to analyze the role and influence of women preachers educated in Iran and of the new generation of zakiras (narrators) trained in Pakistani Madrassas. Finally, I will discuss the implications of the rituals for sectarian identity.
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Re: Anthropology and Gender Studies |
tallan
20-08-2007 01:21
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The Shiite community in Northern Norway consists of people originating in Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India. In this paper I address how they negotiate (new) ways of ritual performance, and the outcome of those negotiations, as we can observe them today. In particular, I address the way these negotiations have influenced women's ritual participation and performance. Negotiations revolve around the symbolic meanings being invested in the rituals' material culture as well as in liturgy, the understandings of Shiite sacred history and the role of its agents, and attitudes towards ritual performance as a device to address people's needs and problems. The community is guided by laypeople. Which arenas are available for men and women to influence the framing of ritual performance? To what degree do men and women's religious roles undergo changes? What characterises the present form, content, and orientation of women's ritual participation and performance in relation to past experiences in their county of origin?
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Re: Anthropology and Gender Studies |
tallan
20-08-2007 01:28
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Henna paste, a temporary vegetable dye, is used by Moroccan women to create designs for the hands and feet, and as a general conditioner for the skin and hair. Early evidence from the Middle East suggests that, like red ochre, henna accompanied life cycle events, including weddings and funerals. Henna is also mentioned in the hadith, and was associated with orthodox Islam when it spread to North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. This association helped to integrate life cycle events into a(n alternate) religious framework in which women are central actors as both practitioners and subjects. It is repeatedly recalled in the greeting extended to a woman decorated with henna, “Wear it in good health,” (literally, “to your health, the henna”) and in the response given by the hennaed woman, “God give you health.” Henna initiates a brief exchange that highlights wellbeing and reciprocity in the religious idiom that is local currency. Close friends and relatives abstain from using henna following a death and apply henna to themselves on joyous life cycle events such as circumcisions and weddings, showing solidarity with the individual experiencing a life cycle transition. The association of life cycle changes with sacred tradition is reiterated through the use of henna at religious feasts and at some shrines. While these norms emphasize the distinction between social categories such as male and female or never-married and married, henna practices also create community between those who wear it together or abstain together.
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Re: Anthropology and Gender Studies |
lanod
20-08-2007 01:29
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Death, afterlife and the hereafter all play a dominant role in Islamic imagery. For the believer, the present world is a prison, whereas the tomb is his fortress which gives way to the Garden (Paradise). For the unbeliever, the present world is the Garden, whereas the tomb is his prison which gives way to the Fire (Hell). Yet, there have never been any anchored convictions and beliefs in Islam regarding Death, afterlife and the hereafter. No one escapes Death, and theoretically all Muslims should be buried in accordance with specific rites. The development of an intense mortuary cult in Shiite communities has been reinforced by the fact that eleven of the twelve Imams suffered a violent death and thus are considered as martyrs (whose intercession on behalf of the believers was nevertheless taken for granted). Moreover, the deeply rooted sense of suffering and of sharing in the fate of Imams is typical of the main branches of Shiism in Iran and of other Shiite communities. This is the reason for which some of the modern theologians have tried to purge Shiism of some of the elements associated with visitation rites and with the sentiment of suffering. In Iran, as in many societies, religious beliefs have a strong influence on Death, its conceptualization and associated practices and since it is officially an Islamic Shiite community, resurrection is also a recurring theme. Iran society made up of thinking individuals, not merely of unquestioning machines blindly following the tenets of their religion. Funerary traditions in Iran are the product of these individuals and of society as a whole. They are borne from a desire for commemoration in order to assuage grief, to reinforce social position in Death as in life, to achieve piety, and to gain identity.
Gageriveh
The Bakhtiari are a partly nomadic people living in the southwest of Zagros Mountains who migrate twice a year in spring between their winter and summer pastors and return in autumn and they are Muslim of the Imamate (Twelver) branch of Shiism. Death and funerary rituals have a special significance for the Bakhtiari. The death of a tribe or family member is not merely a biological event mourned by bereaved relatives. Rather, that death evokes moral and social obligations which are expressed through culturally determined funeral practices. When someone dies, the ceremony begins at the moment of his/her death and may last for some weeks or even a year. Surviving relatives want to both break off and prolong their relationship with the deceased. Close relatives keep the loved one company during his final days, care for the corpse, assume the social status of mourners, and display their grief in public. The ballads and hymns that the women sing and recite in lamentation of those dear to them, especially at ceremonies for great men, still have an important socio-cultural significance. Gageriveh is the name given to the song sung by the choir to mourn the death of the beloved.
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Re: Anthropology and Gender Studies |
ciara
20-08-2007 01:32
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In Gageriveh emphasis is placed on the transformation of memory into narrative. Therefore, regarding to anthropological researches we should be sensitive to the concerns of narratology. This requires a consideration of narrative structure, and an ability to interpret experiences as schematized images. Indeed, the transformation of memory into narrative loosens the ties of original experience, like literary texts breaking free from the author's original inspiration. Here the point is that the men were not able to continue the traditions of bravery and “manliness”, but the women have kept the memory of those triumphant days alive. This is what Gageriveh is about: the women keep these memories in their hearts and pass them on through the generations. So today we know the Bakhtiari tribesmen used to be great warriors the likes of whom no longer exist.
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Re: Anthropology and Gender Studies |
mike
20-08-2007 01:34
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In absence of written history, oral traditions are one medium through which the Bakhtiari construct their past. Songs and ceremonies associated with the funeral traditions have the larger importance of recording historical events and help to reconstruct some part of Bakhtiari's identity. Bakhtiari collective mourning helps to bring families and clans closer together and to strengthen the social group. The social function of mourning rites is not limited to the Death of individuals. Indeed, mourning is a general expression of loss for a society under threat. These cultural practices produce a high level of emotion, and reinforce the attachments that hold society together. They give Bakhtiari a comforting sense of immortality, while at the same time reassembling the group that has been temporarily disrupted by the death of one of its members. Continued analysis of the contemporary funerary traditions in Bakhtiari society will create a rich structure of detailed ethnographic and anthropological evidence for the anthropologists interested in nomadic life in Iran. This evidence includes not only information on the property, social status and prestige of the Bakhtiari, but also on non-orthodox rituals and beliefs, and perhaps even on individuals, notably those who are being mourned.
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Re: Anthropology and Gender Studies |
jedi
20-08-2007 01:36
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Women are much more present and active now during Moharram than they were a quarter of a century ago. At that time, very few women watched men's self flagellation processions or the procession commemorating the taking of Imam Husein's women folk captive to Damascus. No separate women's rituals were held. Women's main role during Moharram was little more than cooking the meals, preparing food for distribution of Nazr, and perhaps some surreptitious observation of the self-flagellating processions. This year many more women and girls watched the nightly mourning processions. At least three little girls wielding little chains to beat their backs in the otherwise entirely male processions. A number of women hosted women's mourning sessions, calling upon local or Shiraz female leaders to preside over recitation and chest-beating. Some women practiced more arduous self-flagellation, such as using both hands to beat their chests simultaneously, or hitting their heads with both hands. At least one young woman wrote her own mourning couplets and texts. On the morning of Ashura, women sat to the side and behind in the large shrine area for prayers and breakfast. Many women stood on the sidelines to watch the male processions and self-flagellants later in the day. This last Moharram in Aliabad, I attend three Sham-e- ghariban, or night of strangers women's rituals. One or more female reciters from Aliabad or Shiraz chanted prayers, readings, a Rozeh or story of the martyrs, and Noheh chanting, accompanied by chest beating. In the center of the room, the hostess arranged a cradle with doll dressed in green to represent Ali Asghar, and a little battlefield with tents, of tiny stones on a plastic tablecloth. On the 13th of Ashura, many women watched the self-flagellating processions and the procession of captives being taken to Damascus, shepherded by Shemr. Toward noon, crowds of females watched the procession of captives circling around, and finally, the tents put on fire. A main reason for expanded involvement in religious practices has been the far greater level of resources available. Especially dramatic among 'Aliabad women, literacy, Qor'an classes, more free time, government encouragement and support, legitimacy to leave the house for religious activities, more freedom and opportunity for assertiveness, influences from Shiraz, and additional financial resources have allowed women to have greater involvement and leadership roles in Moharram practices.
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Re: Anthropology and Gender Studies |
danica
20-08-2007 01:39
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Based on fieldwork in Iran, the paper will consider a female only religious performance: the bride of the Qoraysh (carus-e Qoraysh). The ritual takes place at the home of the hostess and normally also includes some religious instruction, the singing of mowludi poems praising the members of the prophet’s family, and the playing of the daff (frame drum). In Western literature the ritual has so far been neglected. The imaginary resembles the better known ta’ziyeh, the Shiite passion plays, but its more cheerful content reminds of the secular dramatic plays (baziha-ye nemayeshi) also performed by women in Iran. From the few written sources we can assume that the history of this jubilant celebration dates back at least to the time of the Qajars (1795-1925) and was once very popular. By the Shiite orthodoxy it is rejected. Today it is rediscovered primarily by women from the middle and upper classes who invite professional cantors and daff players to perform the ritual.
With reference to historical descriptions the paper will discuss the development of carus-e Qoraysh performances of Shiite women in Tehran, the course of the ritual and the content of the narratives and poems. It seeks to examine how the women negotiate, challenge or reinforce notions of gender and dominant moral ideals, which have to be seen in the context of the larger political and religious discourses in Iran.
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Re: Anthropology and Gender Studies |
emerson
20-08-2007 01:40
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The paper deals with difficulties as well as benefits of conducting a fieldwork at one's own society. The study challenges the assumption that being a native ethnographer is "always" more rewarding in terms of access to information and facing less obstacles. I claim that being a women ethnographer researching in women's rituals in "conservative" Muslim societies is crucial and of more importance than being a native ethnographer. A general rule regarding insider-ethnographers can not be claimed to determine any "easier" or better access to the filed-work. Many factors still determine the type of information and relations that evolves during the fieldwork. The unique context of each field as well the various identification factors that forms ethnographer's identity, and how the researched community perceive, and accordingly, deals with this multilayered construct of ethnographer's identity can extensively determined the form of relations that may develop between the ethnographer and the researched community. Coming from small country and yet rich in culture diversity and so divided upon sectarian, ethnic, class, and geographical stratifications, and in addition to my gender, my access was determined by the above crosscutting factors of identifications. While my family's ethno-sectarian affiliation, through which I was identified, was the main challenge I encountered during some part of the field-work, nonetheless, the most helpful aspect of my perceived identity was my gender. The importance of gender can be appreciated when considering that even among the most "liberal" Muslim societies, women's rituals in general, and women's death rituals in specific, are carried out in relative isolation from men's "world". Here, being a native ethnographer was of less importance when compared to gender affiliation. The reserved-ness of certain Bahraini sect towards me as a native ethnographer because of my sectarian belonging posed as a difficulty despite being a native ethnographer. Thus, in some instances being a female non-native ethnographer facilitated better access to such culturally/religiously critical and sensitive information. Therefore, my access or lack of access to information on death rituals among women in the traditionally conservative Bahraini society was determined by the following factors of identification: gender, sectarianism, ethnicity, social class, and education; some of which worked in my favour, depending on which group I was dealing with. Other factors posed as obstacles and I had to learn to minimize their influences by presenting my self as a "researcher" detached from the locals' categorizations of identities. I admit being a women and carrying a research at my own backyard was like self-engraving experience and a journey of self-discovery.
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Re: Anthropology and Gender Studies |
joyride
20-08-2007 01:41
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More often than not, post-colonial North African film-makers focus on the dilemmas of the individual caught in a changing world, and being pulled in two opposite directions by two antagonist forces, namely those of tradition and modernity. While these societies strive for modernity and progress, in order for them to fit into the world of developing nations, they are also very keen on keeping their customs and traditions intact in face of a dangerous and most threatening tide of Westernisation. This venture often proves almost unrealistic, especially in the face of a growing tourist industry, which remains a vital source of income, as in the case of Morocco and Tunisia, and in the face of widespread satellite TV channels and internet Cyber cafes in all three North African countries. Images of liberated individuals who know no boundaries of traditions and customs abound, and incite the younger generations of young North African men and women to follow their example, and yet, it is mostly the women who find themselves more restricted and controlled in societies where women’s sexuality remains highly controlled, and loss of virginity before marriage often results in a tragedy. The films I would like to examine ‘problemitise’ the individual’s repressed sexuality, and demonstrate that when all fails, the victim resorts to exorcism as a way to vent out their repressed feelings. And yet, in this whirlwind of tradition and modernity, exorcism remains an ancient method of allowing the individual to express their suppressed feelings, when they could not overcome social taboos.
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