Auswahl der wissenschaftlichen Literatur zum Thema „Area Studies. Mithila Studies (India-Nepal)“

This paper explores the multifaceted journey of Mithila women, tracing their evolution from historical to contemporary times. Situated in the culturally rich region of Mithila, spanning parts of Northern India and Nepal, these women have been the custodians of a profound heritage characterized by resilience and adaptability. The paper delves into their roles within traditional societal frameworks, where they have long been pivotal in maintaining cultural practices such as the renowned Madhubani art. Through examining historical texts, cultural studies, and contemporary research, this study highlights Mithila women's enduring strength and agency. Despite rigid patriarchal structures and socio-economic challenges, Mithila women have continually carved out spaces for self-expression and empowerment. The paper investigates the transformative impact of education, economic participation, and political involvement on their lives. It emphasises how access to education has not only enhanced their capacities but also contributed to the socio economic development of their communities. The rise of Mithila women in local governance and their increasing role in Panchayati Raj institutions signify a shift towards greater political empowerment and social change. Ultimately, this paper aims to contribute to the broader discourse on gender and development by offering insights into the unique experiences of Mithila women. It underscores their journey of resilience and transformation as a testament to their enduring spirit and as a critical aspect of the region's socio-cultural fabric. The study calls for sustained efforts to address the challenges faced by Mithila women and to support their ongoing journey towards equality and empowerment.

This paper revisits the process of formation and ritualistic differentiation of the space of Kohbar and Aripana patterns traditionally painted on the mud walls of honeymoon chamber and the yards for pujas respectively. Kohbar and Aripana are the most celebrated folk art performances in the Mithila region of Nepal (and also in the Madhuvani District of Northern India). Kohbars are the ritualistic invocation through painted diagrams of kamala daha (seven-lotus pond motif) and several symbols of fertility and auspiciousness that are supposed to invite conjugal happiness and fertility power especially for newly married couple. Kohbars are often associated with Tantrism and procreative intercourse of opposite sex. Similarly, Aripanas are intricately designed decorative patterns performed on the sacred floor or yards especially during pujas and other auspicious occasions. The study of ritualization of space is relevant and important while studying folk art forms like Kohbar, Aripana, Ashtimki, etc. because ordinary spaces like yards, walls and floors are given special significance during such performances. These spots become sacred spaces for drawing some divine patterns and installing paraphernalia for specials rituals or pujas. The study basically incorporates Catherine Bell’s ideas on ‘Ritualization of Spaces’ and ‘Improvisation of Rituals’. The method of the study is based on the close observation of selected Kohbar and Aripana paintings as cultural texts. The critical analysis of the contents and performative details is expected to derive some cogent conclusion. This study attempts to pave the way for further studies on a number of similar folk art forms.

The Himalaya extends from the Pamir in the west to the valley of the Brahmaputra in the east for nearly 2,500 km and passes through Pakistan, India, China, Nepal and Bhutan. The Himalayan area by virtue of its complex geologic structure, snow-capped peaks, a variety of natural landscapes, mountain peoples of unique socio-cultural diversities and adaptation mechanisms has attracted outsiders from the past. The favorable government policies and peaceful native people of the Nepal Himalaya have welcomed thousands of tourists, trekkers and researchers to fulfill their various aspirations and interests. However, the country is often blamed for causing the so-called eco-crisis in the region. During the 1970s and 1980s, publishing several books and articles with attractive titles, some mountain experts showed solidarity with those who propounded a hypothetical theory of Himalayan environmental degradation on the basis of the limited samples collected from a few localities. In this context, the present study is an attempt to review the available literatures and case studies in order to evaluate the potentiality of the so called eco-crisis/environmental degradation in the Nepal Himalaya areas. It also attempts to analyze the present scenarios in relation to the key factors within the area to judge its validity.The Geographical Journal of Nepal Vol. 10: 39-54, 2017

AbstractThis article examines the applicability of the Zomia concept for social scientific studies of the Himalayan region, with a focus on the Central Himalayas. While for both empirical and political reasons the term Zomia itself may not be entirely appropriate to the Himalayan Massif, the analytical imperatives that underlie James C. Scott’s usage of it – particularly the emphasis on the ethnic, national, and religious fluidity of highland communities, and their intentionality and agency vis-à-vis the states with which they engage – can be of great utility to those working in the Himalayan region. Through a historical review of the area tradition of ‘Himalayan studies’, as well as an ethnographic sketch of the cross-border Thangmi community of Nepal, India, and China’s Tibetan Autonomous Region, I argue that the potential power of the Zomia concept hinges on its ability to provide an additional framework for analysis (and perhaps political struggle), that adds value to, rather than replaces, ‘traditional’ nation-state rubrics.

The pandemic has shown its effect on the world regarding health, economy, society, and environment. Whether it is a negative or positive impact, the period of this pandemic has a vast open platform for further studies. This review focused on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on water quality. It is hypothesized that due to the reduced amount of anthropogenic activity due to the global lockdown, the water quality of water resources increased and rejuvenated. This review showed the study period, methods and parameters used by past researchers in this area. The research methods in this review have proven to be reliable in producing coherent results. The data presented showed a dependable indicator for the pollution and water quality standard whether it is based on the country’s standard or World Health Organization (WHO). The review focused on 23 articles from China, India, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, and Turkey. Findings from this review showed that the trend between the lockdown period and water quality is not rigid and may be affected by how the area is managed throughout the period. Moreover, this review gives definite suggestions for future studies and highlights the need for actions taken by policymakers.

Abstract In this paper I examine the use of the ‘rotated palms’ gesture family among speakers of Syuba (Tibeto-Burman, Nepal), as recorded in a video corpus documenting this language. In this family of gestures one or both forearms are rotated to a supine (‘palm up’) position, each hand with thumb and forefinger extended and the other fingers, in varying degrees, flexed toward the palm. When used independently from speech this gesture tends to be performed in a relatively consistent manner, and is recognised as an interrogative gesture throughout India and Nepal. In this use it can be considered an emblem. When used with speech it shows more variation, but can still be used to indicate the interrogative nature of what is said, even when the speech may not indicate interrogativity in its linguistic construction. I analyse the form and function of this gesture in Syuba and argue that there are a number distinct functions relating to interrogativity. These can therefore be considered as a family of gestures. This research lays the groundwork for a better understanding of this common family of gestures across the South Asian area, and beyond.

Summary: The Indian subcontinent comprises eight countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bhutan, and the Maldives) and a collective population of more than 1.3 billion people. 10% of the world's suicides (more than 100,000 people) take place in just three of these countries, viz. India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. There is very little information on suicides from the other four countries. Some differences from suicides in Western countries include the high use of organophosphate insecticides, larger numbers of married women, fewer elderly subjects, and interpersonal relationship problems and life events as important causative factors. There is need for more and better information regarding suicide in the countries of the Indian subcontinent. In particular, studies must address culture-specific risk factors associated with suicide in these countries. The prevention of this important public health problem in an area of the world with myriad socio-economic problems, meager resources, and stigmatization of mental illness poses a formidable challenge to mental health professionals, policy makers, and governments of these countries.

Abstract The Ganga is an international transboundary river that flows across three major riparian countries: India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, where India shares a significant proportion of the total basin area. The river system is highly dynamic and regularly floods in all three countries due to abundant rainfall in a short period of only four months each year that causes tremendous loss of both property and human life. In this study, we have done a synoptic review to synthesize the hydrology, hydrogeology, and modeling studies that have analyzed hydrological changes and their impacts in the Ganga basin. This review also identifies some of the knowledge gaps and discusses possible options for enhancing the understanding of sustainable water development and management. This review indicated that transparent data sharing, use of satellite-based observations along with in-situ data, integrated hydro-economic modeling linked to reliable coupled surface–groundwater models, a central shared decision support center for early warning systems to deal with hydrological extremes, joint river commissions and monitoring teams, and multilateral water sharing treaties (agreements) are required to promote sustainable and equitable distribution of water resources and to avoid water sharing conflicts in the Ganga basin.

People’s livelihood in the villages of the middle hill of Nepal are based on farming system. The relationship between climate change and seasonal labor migration in the middle hill areas is a relatively understudied research topic, particularly from an empirical point of view. This article aims at contributing to the literature by analyzing the relationship between livelihoods and human mobility in two rural communities located in the Province 5, Arghakhanchi district, Nepal. Traditional rain-fed agriculture is the most important economic activity in the area. This article highlights differences in livelihood and human mobility patterns between households. The economy of the middle hill is primarily agrarian. Over 80% of the population of the middle hill districts still lives in rural areas/settings, where levels of poverty are higher than in the neighbouring countries. They depend on farming and collecting forest products for their livelihoods. In Arghakhanchi district, during the dry season, many migrate in search of temporary work as labourers particularly in Indian states. Arghakhanchi is the district where the proportion of inhabitants from low income is relatively higher than the other surrounding districts of Province 5. These people are marginalized and experience high rates of poverty, low levels of education and poor health. They are highly vulnerable to climate change, due to poverty and dependence on climate-sensitive livelihoods in a vulnerable region. Consequently, more households are likely to participate in seasonal migration and those already migrating are credible to do so for longer times. Currently, such migrants take up low-paying unskilled works, mainly in urban areas in Uttarakhand, Panjab and Bhopal of India, which enables them to make meager savings, hardly enough to repay the debt of their family has incurred during food shortages. In the study area, the non-agricultural diversification is widespread and income from non-agricultural activities exceeds agricultural income. However, though mobility patterns in the area are determined primarily by broader economic considerations.Research Nepal Journal of Development Studies Vol.1(1) 2018 42-57

Blue bull is Asia’s largest antelope, a species of least concern in IUCN Red data list of 2020. In Nepal, it is vulnerable and is often considered as a problem animal for its crop raiding habit. Although, its population is restricted in India and Nepal, there are insufficient studies conducted on the distribution and threats of the species at local level. This study aimed to assess the distribution of blue bull and its conservation threats in Bardia National Park and its buffer zone. Field survey was carried out to identify the potential area with the information provided by park staff and buffer zone people and by the transect method in the selected habitat to determine the distribution of blue bull population. Additionally, six focus group discussions (1 in each of thefive sites and 1 with park staff) and a half-day workshop (involving 25 participants representing each site and park office) were organized to assess the existing threats to the species. Data were analyzed descriptively using MS Excel, while the distribution map was prepared using Arc GIS. Also, 8 major identified threats were ranked using relative threat ranking procedure and classified into four severity classes. We found that the population of blue bull was dispersed from core area of Bardia National Park towards the buffer zone area. Open grazing, invasive species, predation by tiger and flash flood were the major threats to the blue bull as perceived by the local people. Habitat management activities including control of grazing, removal of invasive plant species, plantation of palatable grass species, increase in other prey species of tiger and control of flood in blue bull’s habitats are recommended to protect the species and thus sustain their threatened population.

L'art du Mithila désigne des formes rituelles et artistiques pratiquées au Bihar (Inde) et au Teraï (Népal). Issue de fresques réalisées par les femmes, aux marges de valeurs brahmaniques androcentrées, l'artification marchande globalisée des peintures conduit à des reconfigurations créatives, discursives, sociales, déplaçant vers le centre les peintres du Mithila.Le montage de plus de 500 expositions dans 36 pays (1935-2019) montre une accélération des circulations des œuvres artifiées et de leurs créatrices du Sud global, jouissant de formes de reconnaissance dans un monde de l'art dominant dont elles sont souvent exclues, en raison de subalternisations multiples (genre, caste, classe, clivages Nord/Sud et urbain/rural). L'histoire connectée de la réception transnationale de leur art s'étend du moment colonial tardif et de la postindépendance au moment postmoderne, en lien avec le tournant global, catalysé par le kairos indophile et contreculturel des Long Global Sixties. Une pensée critique prônant l'empowerment, basée sur le lien entre féminismes et indophilie contreculturelle favorise l'engagement sur le terrain de l'artification de médiateurs transculturels.Le moment colonial tardif et de la postindépendance est représenté par M. et W. Archer et des artistes-médiateurs gouvernementaux indiens comme U. Maharathi, fondateur de l'institut de design de Patna. Les Archer interprètent des pratiques à l'aune d'une vision organique de l'art et d'une esthétique universelle liées au freudisme et aux avant-gardes. Leader indépendantiste, Maharathi expose et commercialise l'art du Mithila. Ses ambitions de patrimonialisation résonnent avec l'affirmation d'une indianité liée à la construction de l'identité nationale. L'artification marchande se construit vers les années 1930, avant qu'une crise agricole, alimentaire et politique (1966-67) n'agisse comme catalyseur des circulations globales et de la légitimation des peintres. Avec l'entrée dans la première phase de mondialisation de la réception, celle de l'indophilie contreculturelle, des médiateurs transculturels (Y. Véquaud, E. Moser Schmitt, R. et N. Owens, T. Hasegawa) se situent dans un champ culturel transnational postbourdieusien traversé par des tensions, des convergences idéelles (féminisme, justice sociale) et des dissonances: bohème artistique et littéraire vs anthropologie appliquée au développement; intensification des flux marchands globaux vs idéalisme critique contreculturel et utopie communautaire villageoise. L'éphémère convergence de passeurs de (contre)culture et de médiateurs indiens autour d'un modèle alternatif fait advenir un kairos et un monde de l'art transculturel, décloisonné. Ce nexus entre médiateurs construit des figures féministes de peintres autour d'un art des marges et de la résistance créative. Le moment postmoderne de la globalisation tardive introduit pluralité discursive et déconstruction de visions du Nord-global réifiées, androcentrées et primitivistes et de la triangulation féminisme libéral-développement-tourisme. Les peintures sont réinterprétées à l'aune d'une « contemporanéité multiple » axée sur le flux ou d'identités imbriquées translocales, subversives au prisme des tournants postcolonial et de genre.Le kairos contreculturel est unique dans l'histoire de la réception de l'art maïthil, dont l'éphémère convergence des artificateurs est souvent occultée. Il ouvre la voie aux circulations globales, à la construction d'un champ transnational, à la déconstruction de la valeur d'«authenticité». L'art des femmes peintres entre sur la scène contemporaine globalisée, réapprécié à l'aune de canons transnationaux. En résultent transferts et hybridations entre contreculture et féminismes, en Inde et dans le Nord global. S'y forge une pépinière artistique et un catalyseur du mouvement des femmes, ouverts au féminisme inclusif et à une effervescence créative, leviers d'un changement de paradigme dans les renouvellements des artistes du Mithila
Mithila art refers to ritual and artistic forms practised in Bihar (India) and the Terai (Nepal). Originating in frescoes painted by women on the margins of androcentric Brahmanic values, the globalised commercial artification of paintings has led to creative, discursive and social reconfigurations, moving the Mithila painters from the periphery to the centre.The setup of more than 500 exhibitions in 36 countries (1935-2019) illustrates an acceleration in the circulation of artified artworks and their creators from the global South, who are enjoying forms of recognition in a dominant art world from which they are frequently excluded, due to multiple oppressions (gender, caste, class, North/South and urban/rural divides). The connected history of the transnational reception of their art can be traced from the late colonial and post-independence moment to the postmodern moment, in connection with the global turn that was catalysed by the indophile and countercultural kairos of the Long Global Sixties. Critical thinking that advocates empowerment, based on the nexus between feminisms and countercultural indophilia, fosters a commitment to the artification of transcultural mediators.The late colonial and post-independence moment is represented by M. and W. Archer and Indian government artist-mediators such as U. Maharathi, the founder of the Patna Design Institute. The Archers employ practices an organic conception of art and a universal aesthetics, which is linked to Freudism and the avant-garde, to interpret practices. Maharathi, an independence leader, exhibits and commercialises Mithila art. His ambitions for heritagisation resonates with the assertion of an Indianness linked to the construction of national identity. Commercial artification began to develop in the 1930s, preceding an agrarian, food and political crisis (1966-67) that acted as a catalyst for global circulation and the legitimisation of painters. With the entry into the first phase of globalisation of the reception, that of the countercultural indophilia, transcultural mediators (Y. Véquaud, E. Moser Schmitt, R. and N. Owens, T. Hasegawa) are situated within a post-Bourdieusian transnational cultural field characterised by an array of tensions, ideological convergences (feminism, social justice) and dissonances: artistic and literary bohemia vs. anthropology applied to development; intensification of global trade flows vs. critical countercultural idealism and village community utopia. The ephemeral convergence of (counter)cultural brokers and Indian mediators around an alternative model has given rise to a kairos and a transcultural, decompartmentalised art world. This nexus between mediators constructs feminist figures of painters around an art of the margins and creative resistance.The postmodern moment of late globalisation introduces a discursive plurality and the deconstruction of reified, androcentric and primitivist visions of the Global North, as well as the ‘liberal feminism-development-tourism' triangulation. The paintings are reinterpreted in terms of a ‘multiple contemporaneity' centred on flux, or of overlapping translocal and subversive identities, in the prism of postcolonial and gender shifts.The countercultural kairos is unique in the history of the reception of Maithil art, whose ephemeral convergence of artificators is often overshadowed. This paves the way for global circulation, the construction of a transnational field, and the deconstruction of the value of ‘authenticity'. The art of women painters enters the globalised contemporary scene, reappraised in the terms of transnational canons. This has resulted in transfers and hybridisations between counterculture and feminism, in India and in the Global North. An artistic incubator and a catalyst for the women's movement is being forged, open to inclusive feminism and creative effervescence, which serve as levers for a paradigm shift in the renewal of Mithila artists