Subject: Ethnography

Living Kinship, Fearing Spirits: Sociality among the Khmu of Northern Laos

by Rosalie Stolz  How can we conceive of kinship and sociality in the rapidly transforming uplands of mainland Southeast Asia? How to bridge the divide between classical ethnography and modern approaches to kinship studies? Using her rich findings from extensive fieldwork among the Khmu of northern Laos, the author offers a fresh perspective on kinship […]

Everyday Justice in Myanmar: Challenges and Experiences in the Political Transition

By Helene Maria Kyed  This volume explores how ordinary people in present-day Myanmar obtain justice and resolve disputes and crimes in a time of radical transition in government, politics, society, economy, etc. Its empirical questions serve as a lens to analyze the wider dynamics of state making, the role of identity politics, and the constitution […]

Oral Literature, Gender, and Precedence in East Timor: Metaphysics in Narrative

By David Hicks Decades of war, social upheaval and political change have not lessened the enduring interest of East Timorese in their oral traditions. Although new forms of expression are emerging, the corpus of Timorese oral narrative largely retains an underlying metaphysical unity, and continues to express indigenous notions about gender and precedence. Until now, […]

The Work of Gender: Service, Performance and Fantasy in Contemporary Japan

Edited by Gitte Marianne Hansen and Fabio Gygi  Gender and sexuality in Japan has long been a field of academic study, with gender mainly being examined either as masculinities, femininities or as deviating sexualities. In recent years, however, widespread interest in manga, anime and cosplay among the world’s youth has aroused popular interest in the […]

Ancient Asia

Divinity and Diversity: A Hindu Revitalization Movement in Malaysia

Alexandra Kent 2005 A timely and relevant study in this age of concern about trans-national ’religious’ networks where powerful use of ethnographic date illuminates an original and striking thesis on the ambiguous nature of the Sai Baba movement. What makes this work outstanding is how the author places her material against the complex ethnic, political […]

Folk Tales of the Maldives

Xavier Romero-Frias 2012 The Maldives are mainly known as an equatorial tourist paradise to the south of India but some will know the archipelago risks drowning owing to global warming. Far less is known about the people, who have occupied these islands for millennia but whose deep indigenous culture is today under threat from a […]