THE CAUSES OF THE ASIAN FERTILITY DECLINE

The Asian demographic transition is treated as one aspect of the global Industrial Revolution, which started in the West but now involves the whole world. In fact, the multiplication of per capita income in Asia in the second half of the twentieth century has been the world's fastest. With the rise in female education, urban living and non-agricultural employment, as well as the mortality decline that began early in the twentieth century and government family planning programmes, fertility fell nearly everywhere from the 1960s presaging below-replacement fertility levels. The continent's macro changes are outlined and micro studies of the causes of fertility decline and the delay or forgoing of marriage are drawn from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand and South Korea. It is concluded that marriages will be increasingly forgone or delayed and that most, perhaps all, ESCAP Asia will this century experience below-replacement fertility. The path followed is much more likely to resemble that of Mediterranean Europe than Northern Europe.     

An Early Historic Assemblage Offshore of Godawaya,Sri Lanka: Evidence for Early Regional Seafaring in South Asia

Investigations in 2010 by an international team of maritime archaeologists yielded a concentration of artefacts identified here by the authors as the remains of a shipwreck off the southern coastal village of Godawaya, Sri Lanka. The major findings from this site include many quern stones, various types of ceramics, and glass ingots. The comparative study of the artefacts from the Godawaya site and terrestrial sites of Sri Lanka and India suggest that the ship might have originated from the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. Based on analysis of the artefacts and radiocarbon dating of wood fragments from the site, a broad date of 2nd BCE to 2nd centuries CE is assigned to the assemblage, placing it within the early historical period. Thus, this is the earliest known and as-yet investigated shipwreck in South Asia. The survey findings are discussed and the assemblage is contextualised within the present lack of evidence for early vessels and seafaring in the region.     

Reading ‘stories’ of corruption: Practices and perceptions of everyday corruption in post-tsunami Sri Lanka

This paper examines the practices and perceptions of corruption in two tsunami-affected villages in the Hambantota District, South Sri Lanka. Using an ethnographic approach to low level corruption, the paper focuses on narratives emerging from the study villages. Practices of corruption are associated with discretionary powers and the system of political patronage, which place local office holders, local politicians, and wealthy households on the receiving end of corrupt systems. Perceptions of corruption encompass ideas of morality and state–society relations. The manifestation of corruption in post-tsunami Sri Lanka is shown to coincide with a pre-existing unequal and iniquitous development landscape, which became enmeshed in circumstances characteristic of the post-tsunami environment. The paper highlights a theme neglected in the post-tsunami literature on Sri Lanka and contributes to the few intensive ethnographic accounts of corruption in South Asia. It emphasizes the broader relevance of the study for understanding issues of governance and post-conflict development in Sri Lanka.     

THE TRADING OF ANCIENT GLASS BEADS: NEW ANALYTICAL DATA FROM SOUTH ASIAN AND EAST AFRICAN SODA–ALUMINA GLASS BEADS*

The occurrence of similar glass beads at archaeological sites in Africa and Asia bears witness to the trade relationship between the two continents. This paper reports elemental analysis results from a recent in‐depth laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) study of a group of archaeological glass beads with a specific alumina‐rich composition from East Africa, India and Sri Lanka. Based on the concentrations of the trace elements, two different subgroups were identified. One subgroup occurs at early periods (fourth century bce to fifth century ace ) in South India and Sri Lanka. The second subgroup appears at later dates in Africa and was identified at different Kenyan sites dated from the ninth to the 19th century ace , and at the contemporaneous site of Chaul in western India.     

Aid, conflict and migration: the Canada‐Sri Lanka connection

This paper aims to disentangle patterns of aid, trade, conflict and migration between Canada and Sri Lanka, illustrating the surprisingly significant traffic between the two countries and exploring the significance and quality of these connections. International aid to Sri Lanka is closely related to the opening of markets to multinational investment beginning in 1977. This economic liberalisation overlaps with periods of conflict in Sri Lanka and of macroeconomic growth. The prosperity it has generated, however, has not benefited all social classes and ethnic groups. Accordingly, conflict in Sri Lanka has been characterised by uprisings led by unemployed youth, peaceful and violent protests of discrimination against Sri Lankan Tamils and militarised government reprisals to both. A long period of macroeconomic growth ended in the final quarter of 2001, after the bombing of commercial airliners at Sri Lanka's international airport. Geopolitical and geoeconomic conditions in Sri Lanka changed dramatically. In this context, Canada's International Development Agency (CIDA) and other aid agencies aspire to 'correct for conflict' and promote a democratic and peaceful Sri Lanka through peace‐building and other aid measures. Militarised conflict over at least the past 20 years has generated massive human displacement both within and beyond the country's borders, spawning international migrants in search of asylum. In 1999, Sri Lanka was the leading source country of refugee claimants to Canada. Canada hosts the single largest Sri Lankan diaspora of any country. By examining the nexus of economic liberalisation and aid, I analyse its relation to conflict in Sri Lanka and migration to Canada .     

Ultra-low fertility in East Asia: policy responses and challenges*

ABSTRACT

In the countries of East and Southeast Asia where fertility has reached ultra-low levels, there has been a flurry of developments in pro-natalist policy over the past five years or so, but its impact appears to be limited. This paper addresses the strong obstacles hindering the success of pro-natalist policies in the region, suggests key interventions that are needed, and stresses that the policies in these countries should also be considering other ways of addressing the issues. Social policy has certainly moved ahead in positive ways in South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, as evidenced by parental leave policy and childcare reform, but workplace cultures have yet to follow suit. The slow changes in gender norms, along with the pressures of educating children and finding housing in the big cities where most people in the region live, are the continuing realities facing couples considering marriage and childbearing.     

The Geography of Marriage

While some geographical surveys on marriage behaviour concern general marriage patterns and family systems, there are other discussions on regional variations in marriage within specific countries. This article belongs to the latter tradition, charting the regional differences in ages at marriage in Sweden from 1870 to 1900, and exploring potential determinants of the regional variation. The study builds on Sundbärg's division of Sweden into three main demographic regions, the subsequent Swedish research, and the historical-demographic studies on the determinants of marriage. The results do not fit perfectly into Sundbärg's geography but find a basic divide between the west and east/north of Sweden, mean ages at first marriage being one to one-and-a-half years higher in the west. Social norms and socioeconomic structure seem to have influenced the timing of marriage. At county level, family farming and crowding/competition over land and tenure were typically associated with later marriages, while commercial agriculture and a more diverse economy were correlated with a lower average marriage age. Also, in counties where real wages were higher, marriages usually took place earlier. Finally, results indicate that counties characterized by more secular and tolerant values were on average associated with earlier marriages.     

Crop Diversification and Export Growth: Dynamics of Change in the Sri Lankan Peasant Sector

Self-sufficiency in foodgrains has seen countries of South and East Asia diversifying their agricultural base and trying to move peasant producers from rice to higher-value crops. This article examines policies applied in Sri Lanka in the wake of structural adjustment. Contract farming and corporate sector involvement are analysed as a mechanism of change, and crop characteristics, the macro policy environment, infrastructural facilities and other state supports are identified as important contributing factors. The government commitment to developing horticultural exports as a major industry is seen as a central issue, given constraints that have emerged in the implementation of this policy and pressures to curtail expenditure and reduce the budget deficit. A better focused and more coordinated package of supports is considered to be necessary. The welfare impact of recent growth is also analysed and is found to give some cause for concern.     

Changing trends in international marriages between Korean men and Southeast Asian women, 1993–2013

Korea witnessed a large increase in the fraction of men marrying spouses from Southeast Asia. In the 1990s, about one per cent of Korean men’s new marriages were to Southeast Asian women but by 2005, this increased to over nine per cent with even higher rates in rural areas. With the use of a logit model and Marriage Register data from 1993–2013, the determinants of international marriages are explored using a more rigorous approach and over a longer period of observation compared to previous studies. Older Korean men with lower socioeconomic status were more likely to marry a woman from Southeast Asia (compared to a fellow Korean). The predictors of international marriage differed depending on the wife’s birth country: if the wife had some college education there was a higher probability of marriage to a Filipino woman, but less likely to a woman from China or Vietnam, compared to marriage to a Korean woman. Finally, over the past two decades the education level, age at marriage, and country of origin of the foreign wives have changed substantially. The data shows fewer women migrating from China (of which about 70% are ethnically Korean), and a rising number from Vietnam. This ‘marriage migration’ has implications for the demographics, ethnicity, and occupational composition of those living in Korea.     

Crossing the Indian Ocean before the Periplus: a comparison of pottery assemblages at the sites of Sumhuram (Oman) and Tissamaharama (Sri Lanka)

There is a long tradition of studies of the Indian Ocean trade focused almost exclusively on the trade between Roman Egypt and India. Less attention has been paid to the formative period of early historical long‐distance trade in the Indian Ocean. The aim of this paper is to discuss some aspects of the development of this trade, based on an analysis of the South Asian pottery found at two different settlements: Sumhuram in the Sultanate of Oman and Tissamaharama in Sri Lanka.     

FROM SUSA TO ANURADHAPURA: RECONSTRUCTING ASPECTS OF TRADE AND EXCHANGE IN BITUMEN‐COATED CERAMIC VESSELS BETWEEN IRAN AND SRI LANKA FROM THE THIRD TO THE NINTH CENTURIES AD*

In contrast with artefactual studies of long‐distance trade and exchange in South Asia during the Prehistoric and Early Historic periods ( Ardika et al. 1993 ; Gogte 1997 ; Krishnan and Coningham 1997 ; Tomber 2000 ; Gupta et al. 2001 ; Ford et al. 2005 ), few scientifically orientated analyses have focused on artefacts from the region's Historic period. During excavations at the ancient city of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, a number of buff ware ceramics with a putative organic coating on the interior were recovered ( Coningham 2006 ). Dated stylistically to between the third and ninth centuries ad , analysis of the coatings using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and stable isotope analysis (carbon and deuterium) confirmed that the coatings are bitumen—an organic product associated with petroleum deposits. There are no known bitumen sources in Sri Lanka, and biomarker distributions and isotopic signatures suggest that the majority of the samples appear to have come from a single bitumen source near Susa in Iran. The relationship between the bitumen coatings and the vessels is discussed, and it is suggested that the coatings were used to seal permeable ceramic containers to allow them to transport liquid commodities. This study enhances our knowledge of networks of trade and exchange between Sri Lanka and western Asia during Historic times.     

Positive responses,uneven experiences: intersections of gender,ethnicity, and location in post-tsunami Sri Lanka

This article examines the role of women in post-tsunami livelihoods recovery in two tsunami-affected villages in the Hambantota District, South Sri Lanka. It considers four key livelihoods recovery strategies involving women, revealing their immense capacity to overcome socially constructed disaster impacts. Their ability to respond positively is grounded in specific geographic and cultural contexts, making location and ethnicity of profound consequence. Although pre-existing ethnic backgrounds, influenced by religious and patriarchal structures, are critical indicators of the uneven ways in which women engaged in livelihoods recovery, the tsunami generated new patterns of cultural practice. The article adds to research that goes beyond the simplistic representation of women as undifferentiated ‘victims’ in post-tsunami Sri Lanka. It stimulates discussion on the lived experiences of intersectionality in feminist geography, and emphasizes the broader relevance of the study for understanding multiple and transforming positionalities that constitute the post-disaster lives of women in divergent socio-political contexts.     

清代中期婚姻行为分析——立足于1781—1791年的考察

本文主要依据中国第一历史档案馆所藏乾隆朝刑科题本婚姻家庭类档案中收集的个案资料 ,对 18世纪中后期中国的婚姻行为包括初婚年龄、离婚表现和再婚状况做了初步分析。研究结论表明 ,在当时社会 ,女性早婚是比较普遍的现象 ,男性中早婚和晚婚两种现象并存 ;离婚是人们尽可能避免的 ,离婚中 ,丈夫休妻和嫁卖妻子为主流 ;丧偶妇女再婚和守节并存 ,中青年丧偶妇女再婚比例较高 ,但守节也有一定比例     

Preliminary Report on the Excavation of the 17th-Century Anglo-Dutch East-Indiaman Avondster in Bay of Galle, Sri Lanka

The Avondster was a 17th century British ship captured by the Dutch and used by the United Dutch East India Company (VOC) trading with Asia until it was wrecked in Galle Harbour, Sri Lanka in 1659. The shipwreck was found in 1997 to be in very good condition but under threat from development in the harbour. From 2001–2004 an archaeological project was implemented by the Dutch/Sri Lankan Mutual Heritage Centre. The aims were to record and recover important cultural material as well as to build up the capacity of a Sri Lankan Maritime Archaeology Unit for implementing future work.
© 2005 The Nautical Archaeology Society     

STAYING SINGLE IN A MARRIED WORLD

As in many countries in Asia, families in Indonesia are experiencing substantial change as new patterns of marriage emerge. Currently, a significant number of adults are ignoring the traditional standards for men's and women's appropriate marriage ages. Utilizing Indonesian censuses data for various years and in-depth interviews with 35 never-married women, this study describes the trends and patterns of singlehood among adults in Yogyakarta and Medan. It also explores the lifestyles of single women, including the process of remaining single, views toward marriage and how they cope with the social stigma of being single. The data show that the proportion single among women aged 30–49 increased sharply over three decades. As a consequence, the median age at marriage for females rose between 1970 and 2000 from 24.4 to 27.4 in Yogyakarta and from 23.2 to 26.1 in Medan. Most women agreed that marriage remains an ideal norm, but it does not mean that being single can not result in a satisfied and happy life.     

中韩国际婚姻的跨国家庭纽带研究——以汉族婚姻移民女性为中心

论文以22名嫁韩中国女性为对象,从跨国主义的视角分析她们在韩的婚姻现状、与原生家庭间的跨国联系及这种联系的性质和意义。研究发现,这些女性绝大多数来自中国东北三省和山东沿海地区;中介婚姻占近70%,且与丈夫的年龄差距普遍较大;再婚者占较大比例。其中,60%与韩国丈夫育有子女,已在韩国生活多年,并从事各种非专业化工作。这些女性通过汇款寄物,信息通讯交流,回国探亲,邀请家人来韩等一系列方式维持着跨国家庭纽带。而她们的中国家人也为其提供育儿、家政以及精神抚慰等多方面的支持。通过跨国家庭纽带,汉族女性与原生家庭成员之间实现的是一种灵活变动着的"跨国看护",双方是互惠互利的。     

Early marriage in Bangladesh

Using Matlab demographic surveillance data (HDSS), we assess if misreporting of age at marriage could be contributing to the apparent persistence of early marriage in Bangladesh. A random sample of 1766 women aged 15–29 born in HDSS area was selected. Almost two-thirds misreported their age at marriage, but not randomly—56 percent under-reported while seven percent over-reported their age at first marriage.

Among the currently married group aged 20–24, the reported mean age at first marriage was 16.8 years, comparable to 16.6 years given by Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2011 for the same age group. However a cross-check with their actual dates of birth recorded in the Matlab HDSS database reveals that the true mean age at first marriage was 18.6 years—giving an average difference of almost two years between reported and actual ages at marriage. The paper identifies rising dowry as a likely determinant of age misreporting.     

Time and space in the Sri Lanka‐Tamil diaspora

Based upon fieldwork in Sri Lanka and among Tamil migrants in Norway, this article discusses the relationship between space, time and national identity. The author argues that in the Sri Lanka‐Tamil diaspora one finds two different conceptions of Tamil culture, the ‘traditional’ and the ‘revolutionary’. The first expresses a space‐time relationship that is nomadic and grounded in heritage; the second one is sedentary and historicist. The latter serves as a basis for Tamil separatism, the first does not. By propagating the ‘revolutionary’ model of culture, with its particular understanding of space and time, the Tamil separatist movement Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has adopted viewpoints that throughout this century have fuelled the nationalism of the Sinhalese majority in Sri Lanka. The author argues that instead of explaining social change historically, which is one trend within anthropological theory today, anthropologists should concentrate on exploring under which conditions historical explanations are seen as more valid than their alternatives.     

TRADITION AND CHANGE IN MARRIAGE PAYMENTS IN VIETNAM, 1963–2000

This study analyses data from the Vietnam Study of Family Change to document trends and determinants of marriage payments in Vietnam from 1963 to 2000. We investigate the extent to which structural and policy transformations influenced the practice of payments, and estimate how societal changes indirectly impacted payments via their effects on population characteristics. Results indicate that marriage payments surged following market reform, but also reveal nuanced trends during earlier years. While the socialist attempts to eradicate brideprice appear to have been successful in the North before economic renovation, they were unsuccessful in the South. Structural and policy change explained most of the observed variations in payments. The changing characteristics of the married individuals mattered relatively less. We interpret the re-emergence of marriage payments as attesting to the resilience of traditional values and the unravelling of the socialist agenda, but also as a reflection of Vietnam's economic prosperity in the 1990s.     

Inventories and the Analysis of Wealth and Consumption Patterns In St. Mary's County,Maryland, 1658–1777

Abstract. This article is the first systematic attempt to measure the existence and degree of dowry inflation in South Asia. The popular press and scholarly literature have assumed dowry inflation in South Asia for some time, and there are now a number of theoretical papers that have attempted to explain the rise of dowries in South Asia. Despite these advances, there has been no systematic study of dowry inflation. Using large-sample retrospective survey data from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal, researchers assess the empirical evidence for dowry inflation. They find no evidence that real dowry amounts have systematically increased over time in South Asia.