Identity, Ontology, and Fieldwork through the Lens of Northeast India
July 3
Ülikool 16 - 212
This small workshop explores identity and ontology among ethnic
populations in Northeast India (Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh +
China/Mongolia) with attention to the role of the fieldworker within these
religious landscapes. Papers will address indigenous articulations of the
self and the non-human in relation to death rituals, oral narratives, and
identity formation in the context of local and national infrastructures.
The workshop will conclude with a roundtable discussion focusing on the
liminal spaces that global researchers often come to occupy while living
and working in the field.
Living Relationships with the Dead
10.00 Margaret Lyngdoh (University of Tartu):
Propitiating the Returning Dead among the Lyngngam Khasi, Meghalaya
10.30 Claire Scheid (National University of Ireland, University College
Cork):
Desires of the Recently Dead: Burial Rituals and ‘Post-Human’
Possession among the Adi, Arunachal Pradesh
11.00 Alya Solovyova (Russian State University for the Humanities):
Skull, Bones, and the Post-Mortem Existence in Mongolian and Chinese Culture
11.30 Coffee break
Identity and Narrative in Assam
12.00 Giturani Kalita (Gauhati University):
Sanskritization and Ethnic Crisis in the Context of Assam: A Case Study of
Sarania Kachari Community
12.30 Debajit Sharma (Gauhati University):
Influence of Namghar in the Genesis of Assamese Identity Formation: A
Reflection
13.00 Bijoy Sankar Barman (Gauhati University):
Reflection of Woman in the Rabha and the Karbi Myths of Assam
13.30 Lunch
15.00 Claire Scheid (National University of Ireland, University College
Cork):
From Nothingness: Non-Human Lineages and Spirit Genealogies in Adi Oral
Narratives
16.00 Debajit Sharma (Gauhati University):
Use of Visual Medium as a Dissemination of Knowledge: A Journey through
Folklore in the Assamese Context
16.30 Coffee break
17.00 – 18.30
Conflicted Encounters and Liminal Identities: Locating the Researcher in
the Field
Led by Merili Metsvahi
This roundtable discussion will consider ethical, practical, and emotional
dilemmas faced by fieldworkers documenting different ontologies (in India
and elsewhere).
This Programme is supported by European Social Fund s Doctoral
Studies and Internationalization Programme DoRa.
There are no registration fees but please do let us know if you plan to
attend by emailing [log in to unmask]
Liilia Laaneman
Referent/Assistant
Eesti ja võrdleva rahvaluule osakond/
Department of Estonian and Comparative Folklore
Tartu Ülikool/University of Tartu
ܽlikooli 16-208
EE-51003 Tartu, Estonia
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
+372 737 53 04
www.ut.ee/folk
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