The Power of Being : A Study of Poverty, Fertility and Sexuality among the Kuria in Kenya and Tanzania

The study is concerned with power based on ‘being’, which is the thread run-ning through the entire thesis. The extended family is the focal point, and three themes, interrelated in Kuria society, are explored, namely, poverty, sexuality and fertility. Poverty, one of the focuses, involves drawing atten-tion to local perceptions of destitution and prosperity, grappling with issues about access to, and control of, resources, pointing out impoverishing mech-anisms inherent in traditional socioeconomic systems and exemplifying criti-cal strategies to overcome poverty. In addition to displaying mechanisms of impoverishment, the thesis specifies vulnerable categories of individuals and explores contemporary strategies to overcome destitution. Since Kuria has been recognized as being a patriarchal society, which has led to a depiction of reality entailing a de-emphasizing of principles mediating male domi-nance, the study sheds light upon principles restraining male power and on compelling female recourses in situations of transgressions of cultural codes. The study provides empirical examples demonstrating formal cursing as a powerful female recourse in contexts of male abuse of power. “Power of being’ is dramatically manifested when women curse in their capacity as married daughters and sisters. The Kuria woman marriage has been investi-gated, and the author concludes that besides being a strategy by women who are excluded from privileged categories to overcome poverty and humilia-tion, the woman marriage reveals female aspirations to male spheres of power and status. Through the woman marriage it might be possible for women to own homesteads and to become lineage founders. Sexuality and fertility form intriguing parts of male and female being. In order to expose values at the heart of society with regard to male and female sexuality, the study explores symbols articulated by metaphors.

Vikingars bortgång i främmande land - ett fall av etnisk rensning? : Upptäckten av två massgravar innehållande kvarlevorna av skandinaver i anglosaxiska England

The discovery of two mass graves in England in 2010 containing the remains of Scandinavian men in their prime from the Viking age against the historical backdrop of Anglo-Saxon England has elicited questions as to whether or not they were victims of ethnic cleansing. Literature studies combined with the results from the post-excavation analyses render the conclusion that the victims in the grave, most likely, were not subjected to ethnic cleansing. It is more plausible that they were Scandinavian mercenaries who were executed during an intense period where a failing England was desperately paying for its own conquest with the Danegeld. The historical documents give the impression that a nation-wide genocide against Danes took place, however the archaeological material and analyses do not fully support this scenario.Mot bakgrunden av den anglosaxiska perioden i England har upptäckten 2010 i England av två massgravar innehållande kvarlevor av vikingatida skandinaviska män väckt frågor om huruvida offren var utsatta för etnisk rensning. Resultat från analyser av materialet från utgrävningarna i kombination med litteraturstudier leder till slutsatsen att individerna i graven sannolikt inte var offer för etnisk rensning. Det förefaller mer troligt att männen var legosoldater vilka avrättades under den intensiva period då det skuldtyngda England betalade stora summor danagäld till vikingarna. I de historiska källorna beskrivs hur massmord av daner ägde rum över hela landet, dock finns det inget i det arkeologiska materialet eller i analysresultaten som stöder en sådan händelseutveckling

The Power of Being [Elektronisk resurs] : A Study of Poverty, Fertility and Sexuality among the Kuria in Kenya and Tanzania

The study is concerned with power based on ‘being’, which is the thread run-ning through the entire thesis. The extended family is the focal point, and three themes, interrelated in Kuria society, are explored, namely, poverty, sexuality and fertility. Poverty, one of the focuses, involves drawing atten-tion to local perceptions of destitution and prosperity, grappling with issues about access to, and control of, resources, pointing out impoverishing mech-anisms inherent in traditional socioeconomic systems and exemplifying criti-cal strategies to overcome poverty. In addition to displaying mechanisms of impoverishment, the thesis specifies vulnerable categories of individuals and explores contemporary strategies to overcome destitution. Since Kuria has been recognized as being a patriarchal society, which has led to a depiction of reality entailing a de-emphasizing of principles mediating male domi-nance, the study sheds light upon principles restraining male power and on compelling female recourses in situations of transgressions of cultural codes. The study provides empirical examples demonstrating formal cursing as a powerful female recourse in contexts of male abuse of power. “Power of being’ is dramatically manifested when women curse in their capacity as married daughters and sisters. The Kuria woman marriage has been investi-gated, and the author concludes that besides being a strategy by women who are excluded from privileged categories to overcome poverty and humilia-tion, the woman marriage reveals female aspirations to male spheres of power and status. Through the woman marriage it might be possible for women to own homesteads and to become lineage founders. Sexuality and fertility form intriguing parts of male and female being. In order to expose values at the heart of society with regard to male and female sexuality, the study explores symbols articulated by metaphors. </p

The Power of Being : A Study of Poverty, Fertility and Sexuality among the Kuria in Kenya and Tanzania

The study is concerned with power based on ‘being’, which is the thread running through the entire thesis. The extended family is the focal point and three themes, interrelated in Kuria society, are explored, namely, poverty, sexuality and fertility. Poverty, one of the focuses, implies giving attention to local perceptions of destitution and prosperity, the grappling with issues about access to, and control of, resources, the pointing out of impoverishing mechanisms inherent in traditional socioeconomic systems and the exemplifying of critical strategies to overcome poverty. In addition to displaying mechanisms of impoverishment, the thesis specifies vulnerable categories of individuals and informs on contemporary strategies to overcome destitution. Since Kuria has got recognition as being a patriarchal society, which has lead to a depiction of reality implying a de-emphasizing of principles mediating male dominance, the study throws light upon principles restraining male power and on compelling female recourses in situations of transgressions of cultural codes. The study provides empirical examples demonstrating formal cursing as a powerful female recourse in contexts of male abuse of power. ‘Power of being’ is dramatically manifested when women curse in their capacity of being married daughters and sisters. The Kuria woman marriage has been investigated, and the author concludes that besides from being a strategy by women who are excluded from priviledged categories to overcome poverty and humiliation, the woman marriage reveals female aspirations to male spheres of power and status. Through the woman marriage it might be possible for women to own homesteads and to become lineage founders. Sexuality and fertility form intriguing parts of male and female being. In order to expose values at the heart of society with regard to male and female sexuality, symbols articulated by metaphors are explored.</p