Nutrition and food production: Not as anthropologists see them

Hamilton, Sahni, Barry Popkin, and Deborah Spicer. Women and Nutrition in Third World Countries. South Hadley, Massachusetts: Bergin and Garvey, 1984. x + 147 pp. including notes, appendices, and references. $24.95 cloth.

International Rice Research Institute. Report of an Exploratory Workshop on the Role of Anthropologists and Other Social Scientists in Interdisciplinary Teams Developing Improved Food Production Technology. Los Banos, Philippines: IRRI, 1982. 102 pp. including references, workshop summaries and recommendations, and list of participants, (n.p.) paper.     

The construction of tradition: the cult of the God Rama in Rajasthan,North India

In Rajasthan compared to other parts of Northern India such as Bengal or Orissa, the cult of the god Rama is widespread. One of the characteristics of this cult in Rajasthan is the fact that the god Rama has always been linked to royalty. The association of Rama with royalty has reinforced a certain image of Rajputs (former warriors, rulers) as political leaders. The article shows the relation of myths to social practices and how these myths about Rama have been used by former rulers and by politicians today. In the constructions of national and local traditions, beliefs are often more important than historical traditions.     

Their Body is Different,Our Body is Different: European and Tahitian Navigators in the 18th Century

This paper examines exchanges of navigational knowledge between Tahitian navigators and European explorers in the mid‐18th century. Although Tahitian and European sailors accomplished way‐finding at sea in ways based on very divergent assumptions about the ocean, the cosmos and persons, Tahitian navigators were able to board European ships, and pilot them safely through the islands. At first each side drew upon their own familiar practices to make sense of the other; using ostension or pointing, linguistic exchange and experience of each other’s vessels as bridgeheads to produce a kind of rough intelligibility. Much was lost, however, in these partial and approximate exchanges. Here, exchanges between European and Tahitian sailors and their very different knowledge systems are used to explore the intricacies of cross‐cultural encounters.     

Symbol and power: the Dalai Lama as a charismatic leader

This article originated in a brief but inspiring analysis by Margaret Nowak. Nowak used Sherry Ortner's concept of ‘summarising symbol’ to imply that, much the same way as the American flag was the epitome of the United States to each and every American, the Dalai Lama encompasses everything Tibetan to the Tibetan people. What does this comparison say about the Dalai Lama? I examine the relationship between symbol, power and charisma with Tenzin Gyatso, the current Dalai Lama, as a case in point. With exile, there has been a shift in the symbolic importance of the Dalai Lama, both as a man and as an institution, from a symbol of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism to a symbol of the Tibetan cause and, more generally, to a symbol of Buddhism in the world. These changes have given Tenzin Gyatso a new authority in the Tibetan community: he is now the unique and unquestioned leader of the Tibetan cause in the world. I discuss the problems that occur when a symbol is also a man and a leader, as well as the solutions proposed, at a moment when the Tibetan community in exile is experiencing democratisation.     

Claiming disability in the field of geography: Access,recognition and integration

The topic of physical disability has long been neglected in the field of geography. Geographers have challenged this neglect by undertaking studies of, for, and by persons with disabilities. This paper extends that challenge by examining the roles that disability and persons with disabilities play within the field of geography itself. The recognition and integration of persons with disabilities includes concerns with physical access, but also requires an examination of the institutional means by which geography departments, publications and conferences have worked and can work to challenge ableism: the neglect of disabled people's lives and perspectives. After centuries of exclusion, the recognition and integration of disability into society will surely be an issue of profound importance in coming years. We need geographers prepared and willing to study these processes.