Religious Fundamentalism in Zanskar, Indian Himalaya

Zanskar valley, nested in the Indian Himalayas is at a turning point of its history. After centuries of Buddhist-Muslim marriages, these are now rejected by both religious groups. This paper addresses the impact of the rise of religious fundamentalism on social regulation and communal negotiation in Padum and Zanskari society. This is a Tibeto-Burman speaking Himalayan population made up of a majority of Mahayana-Buddhists and a minority of Sunni-Muslims. Based on ethnographic research conducted since 2001 in the local language, the anthropological approach presented here emphasizes the importance of speech acts and also uses a socio-cultural and psycho-sociological perspective. It also stresses historical and bibliographical investigations as well as research on the latest local political developments

Traditional and modern crossing process exchange in a Buddhist–Muslim society Case studied: Zangskar valley in the great Indian Himalayas

Salome Deboos, University of Strasbourg Doctor in social and cultural anthropology. She specialises in Zangskar (in the Indian Himalayas) where she has been conducting extensive field research since 2000. She is currently a professor at the University of Strasbourg and head of the Institute of Ethnology as well as part of the research unit S.A.G.E./CNRS (UMR 6373).Economic exchange in the Zangskar valley (in the high Indian Himalayas) was a tightly integrated element of the social and political network of this Buddhist–Muslim society . Accordingly people of the lower stratum could not take part in the exchange and circulation of wealth coming from farming; the only way to have a role in the circulation of goods is by using cash. Since 1970, paid civil servants and the development of tourism and facilities have opened up cash exchange. Nowadays being able to procure manufactured goods by integrating into the Indian monetary exchange system has become synonymous with social success. Based on an ethnographical study carried out since 2000, this article proposes to show how the use of goods and green or stamped money for economic exchange impacts on and is impacted by the religious diversity of the population of Zangskar, which is not immune to influences emanating from the wider social, political and economic environment

Traditional and modern crossing process exchange in a Buddhist–Muslim society: Case studied: Zangskar valley in the great Indian Himalayas

Economic exchange in the Zangskar valley (in the high Indian Himalayas) was a tightly integrated element of the social and political network of this Buddhist–Muslim society . Accordingly people of the lower stratum could not take part in the exchange and circulation of wealth coming from farming; the only way to have a role in the circulation of goods is by using cash. Since 1970, paid civil servants and the development of tourism and facilities have opened up cash exchange. Nowadays being able to procure manufactured goods by integrating into the Indian monetary exchange system has become synonymous with social success. Based on an ethnographical study carried out since 2000, this article proposes to show how the use of goods and green or stamped money for economic exchange impacts on and is impacted by the religious diversity of the population of Zangskar, which is not immune to influences emanating from the wider social, political and economic environment

‘Pene (r)tsogpo’ (L’argent [roupies] c’est sale). Approche anthropologique de la monnaie. Le cas de la Vallée du Zanskar, Himalaya indien

Titre du No : La Monnaie en Relation, Sophie Laligant et Géraldine Le Rou

Some aspects of the chemistry of the dried fruit aroma

Many compounds of alleged dried frult-llke aroma have been prepared with a view to a structure-activity relationship (S.A.R.) analysis of dried fruit odorants. Of the oxaspiro[2,5]octane type compounds, all the diastereoisomers of ethyl 4,4,7-trimethyl-2- (1-oxaspiro[2,5]octyl)carboxylate were prepared. The glycidate esters, derived from the Darzens condensation of α-ionone with methyl and ethyl chloroacetate, were also prepared. Megastigma-5,7-(E),9-trien-4-one was synthesised from β-ionone. All of the compounds were claimed to have dried fruit-like or related aromas, but these claims were not confirmed by us. Some novel chemistry and compounds were prepared during the syntheses of these compounds. In a serendipitous discovery by workers at Gallahers Ltd., cyclohexylacetic acid was found to possess a dried fruit note. In order to Investigate the stereoelectronic requirements of the presumed dried fruit aroma receptor, several commercial compounds were assessed and several analogues were prepared and assessed. The 2-, 3- and 4- methyl substituted acids were synthesised by two novel routes from a suitable methyl substituted cyclohexanone. The ring methyl substituted α,β-unsaturated acids were also prepared and assessed, as were the α,β-, β,γ-and γ,δ-unsaturated analogues of cyclohexylacetic acid itself. In addition, several bicyclic acetic acids and their unsaturated analogues were prepared and assessed. Thus, 9-bicyclo- [3,3,1]nonylacetlc acid and 9-bicyclo[3,3,1]nonylideneacetic acid were made. Likewise, the isomers of 2-blcyclo[2,2,1]heptyl acetic acid and 2-bicyclo[2,2,1]heptylideneacetic acid were assessed. Furthermore, a variety of the intermediates were prepared and assessed. The results of the S.A.R. study of these substituted acetic acids were inconclusive. The most realistic dried fruit-llke odorant was cyclohexylacetic acid and the odorant of lowest threshold was exo-2-bicyclo[2,2,1]heptyl acetic acid. Of interest, some methyl esters of these types of compound had dried fruit-like notes in their aroma profile on smoking in a ciarette