Japanese Journal of Ethnology

[title in Japanese]

Article type: Cover
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages Cover1-
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_Cover1

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[title in Japanese]

Article type: Cover
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages Cover2-
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_Cover2

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[title in Japanese]

Article type: Appendix
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages App1-
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_App1

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The Principle of Women's Membership in a Patrilineal Descent Group : The case of Tanaka, Kochinda-cho, Okinawa

Yoko TAKASU

Article type: Article
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages 343-360
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_343

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This paper proposes to reanalyze the structure of the hara, or munchu, (patrilineal descent group) widely observed in Okinawa, from the vlewpoint of the female ego. As Is well-known, membership in munchu is transmitted from genitor to children of both sexes. The structure of munchu, therefore, takes the form of a typlcal descent group. However, since munchu membership is transmitted only through genitor, women cannot transmit thelr munchu identity to their offspring. Accordingly, women are excluded from inheritance of property (partlcularly land), home and compound, and gwansu (ancestors in the forms of ancestral tablets and tombs). Traditionally, these three formed an undividable estate which had to be kept intact by generation after generation of first sons. In contrast, dislnherited, women monopollzed spiritual and religious roles. So far, the munchu has been analyzed and described from the viewpolnt of male ego. Female persons appear, but they do so in a framework which is structurally defined by males. My alm In this paper is to Investigate what exactly patrilineality means for a female ego. I analyze Oklnawan women in the munchu system as follows: l) What concrete roles do women play in the descent context? 2) In what capacity do they play rellgious roles? 3) Are there differences between women and men as to status and roles, and if so what, and why? The analysis is based on data collected in 1989 and 1990 in Takara, (population in 1990, 278, In 89 households), Kochinda-cho, Okinawa.

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A Few Kinds of Gods in Okinawan Society : some aspects of conflict and coexistence among folkreligious practioners

Ken SHIBUYA

Article type: Article
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages 361-384
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_361

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This paper deals with some aspects of conflict and coexistence among female folk-religious practitioners In a northern village on Oklnawa island, Japan, in which I have done fieldwork. In Okinawan folk-society (shima), there are two kinds of folk-religious practitioners, Noro and Yuta. Noro form a cult group whose members are called kaminchu. They are folk-religious practitioners who also take charge of public festivals sponsored by a community or by communities. Yuta usually work alone and serve various private needs. But this distlnction between them has been established only as a standard; as a matter of fact, they perform their duties through interacting with each other. In consideration of such circumstances, they have been studied from various perspectives. For example, from that of their social and magio-religious role and character. Looking at previous studies of the relation between them, three points can be summarized: (1) the issue of their origin, (2) their study from the point of view of shamamism, (3) the issue of their conflict and coexistence. As for the first point, It has been discussed mainly from the historical point of view. There are two theories. One is that Noro appeared earlier than Yuta. The other is that Noro and Yuta have the same origin. Today, we cannot judge which theory is correct. As for the second polnt, the kamidari which they cause is compared with spirit-possession. The concept of spirit-possesslon is a key one in the study of shamanism. Through their inltiation as religious practitioners or through performing various rltes, they come into direct contact with spirits or gods. One way to have direct contact Is spirit-possession, called kamidari. Many anthropologists who have studied folk-religious practitioners in Okinawa have devoted attention to kamidari.

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`Fakir' and `Fakirni', Muslim Beggars in Rural Bangladesh : the cultural background which creates and accepts beggars

Mugiko NiSHIKAWA

Article type: Article
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages 385-406
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_385

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This paper treats the subject of Muslim beggars and the custom of giving alms in rural Bangladesh. It is based on findings from a field survey which was conducted during my stay in M village in Madhapur Upazia, a sub-divlsion of Tangail District. The village is located about 180 km north-west of the capital, Dhaka. In this location were to be found a variety of customs and rules concerning alms and begging, permitting those who have no other means for llving to subsist by abiding by accepted conventions. In this paper I attempt to present the cultural factors and the system which creates and accepts beggars in the rural society of Bangladesh. In Bengali in Bangladesh, a muslim male beggar is called a fakir, and a female beggar a fakirni. Fakir comes from the Arabic word, 'faqlr' which denotes a sufi or dervish, a mystic ascetlc in Islam. In ethnographlc writings on rural Bangladesh a fakir has been described as a mendicant ascetic, a muslim holy man, a muslim spiritual leader, or a religious beggar, all of these are clearly distinguished from worldly beggars. However the term fakir is in fact used not only for a rellgious beggar, but also for a worldly beggar in present-day Bangladesh, and the number of the latter Is much greater than the former. In Madhapur Upazlla and neighboring areas, each village has a fixed day of the week for giving alms to the people who come begging. I researched the subject In 102 other villages around M village, whlch had a total population of 99,093, 96% muslim and most of the rest Hindu. The day for giving alms varies from village to village. For example, in M village and its neighboring 6 vlllages, the day is Monday, while in H village immediately west of M village and its surrounding 3 villages it Is Tuesday, and for the seven vlllages south of this H village it is Sunday. As a result of this, beggars can make their rounds each day, and return to their own home village with the alms that they have recelved. Alms given on a fixed day of the week are termed bar-bhikha (bar: day of the week, bhikha: alms). The amount of bar-bhikha glven by a vlllager to a beggar is small, Iess than a handful of rice, but a beggar can get enough rice In one day to 1lve on by going around to several villages.

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Kerala Society and Brahman : The Castem System in a Situation without Unified Soverignty

Masaru KOBAYASHI

Article type: Article
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages 407-428
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_407

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Kerala society in south India is an interesting place for the study of the caste system. because, before the 18th century, it was the Brahmans who had the supreme status in a situation where there was no unified sovereignty. Kerala Brahmans named Nambudiribrahmans (here called Nambudiris) could not only establish a ritual hierarchy, of which they themselves occupied the top position, but could also get politico-economic power that made them to some extent independent of the kings. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this pecullarity of the caste system of so-called 'traditional Kerala society'. In doing so, it is necessary to arbitrate between the functionalism of K. GOUGH etc. and the idealism of L. DUMONT, both of whom offer an extremely static model of the caste system, in the concrete historlcal and social context of Kerala. It cannot be doubted that the caste system in Kerala had an politico-economic organization. The basic structure of the each kingdom consisted of the arrangement of Nayar subcastes in such political relationships as >kings (rajas) → Iocal chiefs (nadvaris) → village headmen (desavaris) → Vassals (adyars)< through the exchange of fiefs for military service. Each village structure consisted of the arrangement of Nayars and various lower castes in such economic relationships as >landowners (jenmi) → tenants (kanakkaran) → tenant farmers (ver-umpattamdar)→agricultural serfs <. However, in spite of GOUGH'S insistence, we should not consider the caste system of Kerala to be equal to these feudalistic organizations. Although some of the Nambudiris possessed land and military power which was great for a local chief, they didn't owe their high status only to politico-economic factors. The relationship between castes or subcastes, which seemed parallel to the substantial social organization, cannot be grasped without making reference to the ideology of ritual hierarchy. This was typically expressed in the rule of distance-pollution, which only the Kerala had in India. According to it, Nambudiris were regarded as the embodiment of ritual purity, and the ranking of each caste was estimated by the approachability or unapproachability to the Nambudiris.

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Reconsideration of Pollution : Through the Case of Bise, Okinawa

Ryoko SHIOTSUKI

Article type: Article
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages 429-439
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_429

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Report of the Committee on Ethics, Japanese Society of Ethnology

Kazuo UENO, Takao SOFUE

Article type: Article
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages 440-451
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_440

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Report on the International Conference on Religion and Ecology in Northern Eurasia and North America, and on the Establishment of the Northern Studies Association(NSA)

Takashi IRIMOTO

Article type: Article
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages 451-454
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_451

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David d. Gilmore, Manhood in the Making : Cultual Concepts of Masculinity, 1st edition, New Haven&London, Yale University Press, 1990, xiii+258pp.

[in Japanese]

Article type: Article
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages 455-457
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_455

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Politics of Ritual : Ethnograhy of Dynamics among the Toraja of Indonesia

[in Japanese]

Article type: Article
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages 457-460
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_457

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[title in Japanese]

Article type: Appendix
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages 461-
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_461

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[title in Japanese]

Article type: Appendix
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages 462-
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_462_1

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[title in Japanese]

Article type: Appendix
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages 462-
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_462_2

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[title in Japanese]

Article type: Appendix
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages App2-
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_App2

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[title in Japanese]

Article type: Index
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages i-ii
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_i

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[title in Japanese]

Article type: Index
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages iii-iv
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_iii

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[title in Japanese]

Article type: Appendix
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages App3-
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_App3

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[title in Japanese]

Article type: Appendix
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages App4-
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_App4

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[title in Japanese]

Article type: Cover
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages Cover3-
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_Cover3

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[title in Japanese]

Article type: Cover
1992 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages Cover4-
Published: March 30, 1992
Released on J-STAGE: March 27, 2018

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.14890/minkennewseries.56.4_Cover4

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