Kasta kaip antropologijos paradigma: Louiso Dumonto vaidmuo

The article deals with the problems of the study of caste in social anthropology. Caste, which has continuously been the essential feature of the Indian society, is also the main issue of discussion between the two groups of social anthropologists: those who traditionally (from the birth of sociology) believe that the caste is a special case of a very strict social stratification and can exist in different societies (of which India is a case par exellence) and the revolutionary view of Louis Dumont who contended that it is a uniquely Indian phenomenon. After a careful analysis of both the results of field studies and the main Hindu sacred literature, Louis Dumont stated that the term of caste could be used only for studies of Indian society since no other so called caste case structure outside India (to be precise, outside Hinduism as the ideological source) has the essential features of Indian caste system: perfect hierarchy which is based on the opposition of purity and pollution and on the separation between status and power. For these conclusions L. Dumont was and continues to be quite fiercely criticized, called Indologist, Indophile and the supporter of caste oppression. The arguments against the view of Dumont by Gerald Berreman, one of the constructive critics, show that Dumont has in reality overlooked some of the dynamic features of the caste system - the eternal struggle for a change by the oppressed castes, and that he ignored the disagreement of the lower castes with the brahmanic view of the caste. By emphasizing the variety of caste systems in India itself, Berreman proposes not to limit the use of the term of caste to India, but to rather expand the universal notion of caste as that of a case of strict social stratification plus the sociocultural interrelation. The two opposing views can be seen both as representing the static and dynamic aspects of the caste system, as well as the views ’from above’ (the idealized point of view of religio-cultural authority) and ’from below’ (the point of view of the oppressed castes which are not allowed to disagree by their religio-cultural authority).lt is suggested that the prospects of the study of a caste lie somewhere in between the two paths and that social anthropology, being the best equiped method to research caste, is still very much a domain of Dumont whose revolutionary ideas provoked the most fertile critiqueStraipsnio tikslas - apžvelgiant pagrindinius oponuojančių požiūrių argumentus, įvertinti Louiso Dumonto išvadą: kiek kastų sistema gali būti laikoma unikalia antropologine paradigma ir ar tai yra vis dėlto tiesiog ypatingai grietos socialinės stratifikacijos kraštutinumas, kaip teigia sociologai ir dauguma antropologų. Kitaip tariant, ar Indijos kastų sistema - unikalus reikinys, būdingas tik Indijos subkontinentui, ar paradigminis stratifikacijos atvejis, kitose kultūrose aptinkant paprastesnių ir blankesnių kastų sistemos išraiškų. Iekant atsakymo atsiranda ir šalutinis, tačiau įkyriai besiperantis klausimas: ar ši problema negali būti paaiškinta sudėtingais skirtingų, tačiau gretimų mokslų - sociologijos ir antropologijos, taip pat ir indologijos, tarpusavio santykiais

Indoeuropiečių protėvynės idėjų sklaida

The issue of the Indoeuropean homeland was always relevant in different cultures. The ideas of Indoeuropean homeland have developed in severai directions – academic theories, popular ideas of intellectuals and “folksmen”. But they were interconnected and influencing each other. The purpose of this article is to review the development of the ideas of Indoeuropean homeland in three different but related to the issue cultural backgrounds: Western Europe, Lithuania and India, and to reveal the impact of the epochs and regions on the public and scholarly ideas.The very definition of Indoeuropeans is a problem which is characteristic of whole course of development of Indo–European studies which is reviewed here with regard to researches of the homeland. Apart from many scientific theories of homeland and attempts to locate it (ranging from as far south as Indus valley to the North Pole), there existed and exist a wide range of opinions on homeland in each society discussed. After analysing the three societies some generalisation can be done: while Europeans in the past tended to relate themselves to homeland through their “Indoeuropean” versus “non–Indoeuropean” (that can mean non–European) identity, but are not preoccupied with the issue now, Lithuanians are still concerned with the issue of homeland, but from the angle of the antiquity of the homeland and special role of Lithuanians there. And Indians are now especially concerned with both the issue of Aryan identity, its relation to “Indoeuropean”, “European” identity and the antiquity of the homeland with the special role of the Aryans in it.Daugiau nei du šimtus metų vyko ir tebevyksta diskusijos apie indoeuropiečių protėvynę. Kitaip negu kitos, tik siauram mokslininkų ratui įdomios problemos, indoeuropiečių protėvynė domino ir tebedomina ne tik intelektualus, bet ir plačiąją visuomenę, o emocingos protėvynės interpretacijos ne kartą turėjo ir praktinių implikacijų. Ypatinga tai, jog toks susidomėjimas indoeuropiečių protėvyne savotiškai suvienijo tris kultūrinius kontekstus – Europą, Lietuvą ir Indiją, nors kiekviename iš šių kontekstų protėvynės idėjos skleidėsi labai savitai

Analysis into the selection of a ballast water treatment system

Today, it is very important to select and install the optimal equipment for the treatment of ballast water in existing ships. Increasing cargo volumes demand for a greater number of ships for transportation and expanded navigation geography as well as result in increased amount of discharged ballast water. Consequently, sea water pollution is increasing and invasive microorganisms appear that the existing flora and fauna are unaccustomed to. In order to protect territorial waters from these invasive species, International Maritime Organization (IMO) requirements have been implemented that regulate the quality parameters of discharged ballast water from ships. This problem has become particularly relevant for operational ships, in which ballast water treatment equipment and technical solutions had not been anticipated in the design stage. This article provides a comparative analysis of the treatment equipment of ballast water and the related technical parameters, in order to distinguish the most important equipment criteria. A Carrier, according to its technical characteristics, was analysed together with the water treatment method for operated bulk. An expert evaluation for the characteristics of the technical equipment was established

Švarumo koncepcija Indijos kastų sistemos studijose

The preoccupation of Hindus with their ritual purity was always noticed and observed by the visitors of India from the early days. This was also noted by the anthropologists studying India in the beginning of the 20th century (e.g. Bouglé in 1908). However no in-depth assessment of its implications on the essential social structure of India - caste system - was given in social anthropology until Louis Dumont formulated his landmark theory of the analysis of the Indian caste system in his Homo Hierarchicus (1966).It was Dumont who first claimed that it was not possible to explain the nature of the caste system without establishing an essential principle permeating all the visible features of the caste system (e.g. hierarchy, separation, division of labour). He concluded that such a principle was found in Hinduism and called it a fundamental opposition between purity and pollution. This essential link between the caste system and Hinduism makes it impossible to have parallel analysis of Indian caste systems and non- Indian systems of strict social stratification which, as Dumont argued, could not and should not be called caste systems.However in this article, without taking position on whether caste system can only be found in India, or it is a more general feature of human social organization, I would like to focus on Dumont’s analysis of the concept of purity, its merits and shortcomings as well as the evolution of this concept in a post-Dumont Indian studies of social anthropology and Hindu perceptions as related to the changes in Hindu way of life. Finally, with the help of Dumont’s critics I would try to make some assumptions on the possible future transformation of the popular concept of purity, basing my premises on the secondary information I received from my fieldwork on the stability and change of the caste system as well as on my personal experience of life in India.Straipsnyje analizuojama hindų ritualinio švarumo koncepcija, kurią socialinėje antropologijoje pirmasis suformulavo Louis Dumontas, teigęs, jog pagrindinis kastų sistemos principas yra ritualinio švarumo - nešvarumo principas, slypintis hinduizmo religijoje, ir pagrindžiantis Indijos kastų sistemos bruožus. Siekiama išsiaiškinti, kas hindų kultūroje nulemia švarumo esmę, jo turinį kokie yra Dumonto koncepcijos pranašumai bei trūkumai, kuriuos atskleidė Dumonto kritikai bei šiuolaikiniame populiariajame hinduizme vykstantys pokyčiai. Remiantis asmeniniais lauko tyrimais daromos preliminarios prielaidos, kokia kryptimi galėtų toliau kisti ritualinio švarumo koncepcija šiuolaikinių hindų interpretacijose apie kastų sistemos ateitį

Passage to India: oscillating between love and hate. The emotional reception of India as the subject of Indian studies

Since time immemorial, India has evoked strong emotional reactions from the Europeans attracted by her rich civilisation. These reactions range from love beyond explanation to shock and panic leaving a deep impact on the personality concerned. In this presentation, the author touches upon the problem of the emotional reactions to India among the European general public and its possible written sources. One can often notice that even the scholars of Indian studies succumb to certain emotional biases that breed different sorts of stereotypes about India. This article therefore argues that it is necessary to reflect academically upon these extreme emotional interpretations of India, both those of Indologists and of common people

Ritualinis šokis kaip religinių apeigų forma: Bharata Nāṭyam atvejis

The article focuses on the nature of the Bharata Nāṭyam style of classical Indian dance as a form of worship, analyzing its relation with the environment of a Hindu temple. Linear parallels are drawn between the traditional repertoire of the Bharata Nāṭyam recital and the process of going to the temple. The ontological relation between the dance and the temple as well as the link between the internal space of the dance and that of the temple are also analyzed.Straipsnyje analizuojamas vieno iš Pietų Indijos klasikinio šokio stilių - Bharata Nāṭyam, ritualinio šventyklos šokio sceninio varianto, vidinis santykis su religinėmis apeigomis ir šventykla. Gretinant klasikinio šokio repertuarą ir tikinčiojo veiksmų šventykloje linijinę eigą, matomos paralelės tarp šių dviejų procesų. Taip pat trumpai apžvelgiama šventyklos ir šokio ontologinė reikšmė bei gretinamos šių dviejų reiškinių vidinės erdvės - erdvinis planavimas, geometrija, ornamentika. Pastebimas glaudus vidinis šventyklos ir ritualinio šokio, kurie abu yra kuriami kaip išreikštosios visatos kosmologinis modelis ir atvaizdas, taip pat kaip individo ir dievybės bendravimo mediumas, ryšys. Daroma išvada, jog Bharata Nāṭyam šokis pagal savo vidinės erdvės struktūrą yra sukonstruotas hinduizmo mąstysenoje kaip religini

Development of the ideas of Indo-European homeland

The issue of the Indoeuropean homeland was always relevant in different cultures. The ideas of Indoeuropean homeland have developed in several directions - academic theories, popular ideas of intellectuals and "folksmen". But they were interconnected and influencing each other. The purpose of this article is to review the development of the ideas of Indoeuropean homeland in three different but related to the issue cultural backgrounds: Western Europe, Lithuania and India, and to reveal the impact of the epochs and regions on the public and scholarly ideas. The very definition of Indoeuropeans is a problem which is characteristic of whole course of development of Indo-European studies which is reviewed here with regard to researches of the homeland. Apart from many scientific theories of homeland and attempts to locate it (ranging from as far south as Indus valley to the North Pole), there existed and exist a wide range of opinions on homeland in each society discussed. After analysing the three societies sonic generalisation can be done: while Europeans in the past tended to relate themselves to homeland through their "Indoeuropean" versus "non-Indoeuropean" (that can mean non-European) identity, but are not preoccupied with the issue now, Lithuanians are still concerned with the issue of homeland, but from the angle of the antiquity of the homeland and special role of Lithuanians there. And Indians are now especially concerned with both the issue of Aryan identity, its relation to "Indoeuropean", "European" identity and the antiquity of the homeland with the special role of the Aryans in it

Analysis into the selection of a ballast water treatment system

Today, it is very important to select and install the optimal equipment for the treatment of ballast water in existing ships. Increasing cargo volumes demand for a greater number of ships for transportation and expanded navigation geography as well as result in increased amount of discharged ballast water. Consequently, sea water pollution is increasing and invasive microorganisms appear that the existing flora and fauna are unaccustomed to. In order to protect territorial waters from these invasive species, International Maritime Organization (IMO) requirements have been implemented that regulate the quality parameters of discharged ballast water from ships. This problem has become particularly relevant for operational ships, in which ballast water treatment equipment and technical solutions had not been anticipated in the design stage. This article provides a comparative analysis of the treatment equipment of ballast water and the related technical parameters, in order to distinguish the most important equipment criteria. A Carrier, according to its technical characteristics, was analysed together with the water treatment method for operated bulk. An expert evaluation for the characteristics of the technical equipment was established

Ar greitų ir tikslių judesių atlikimas priklauso nuo lyties ir rankos?

Aim of the study was to establish the differences in men and women’s performance of speed-accuracy movements with their left (LH) and right (RH) hands. The research participants were 24 healthy right-handed subjects: 12 males (aged 20.8 ± 1.1 years) and 12 females (aged 21.4 ± 1.0 years). The research was carried out in the Laboratory of Human Motor Control at the Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education (LAPE) applying the analyzer of dynamic parameters of human leg and arm movement (DPA-1; Patent No. 5251; 2005 08 25), which is used for the qualitative estimation of the dynamic parameters of one arm and leg target movement, two arms and legs coordinated and independent target movements, when the resistance power and target are coded with different programmable parameters. The task was performed with the right and then with the left hand (50 repetitions with each hand). The subjects had two tasks: to react as quickly as possible (simple task); to react as quickly as possible and to hit the target on a computer screen quickly and accurately (complicated task). We registered the maximal and mean movement speed, reaction time, movement trajectory and intraindividual variability of the right and the left hands.Conclusions. There was no significant difference in accuracy between female and male subjects, thought female subjects performed speed-accuracy task more slowly than men. Both males and females performed the speed-accuracy task with their right hand faster and more accurately than with their left hand. Performing movements with different hands the indices of reaction time did not differ significantly. Both males and females performed movements with their right and left hands with the same intraindividual variability

Are motor and cognitive control, impulsivity and risk-taking behaviour as well as moral decision making determined by the activity of prefrontal cortex during Stroop test?

Background. The main aim of our research was to determine if there was a relationship between prefrontal cortex activity during Stroop test (dependent variables) and variables of “Go/NoGo”, Balloon Analogue Risk Task, impulsivity score, different tests of cognitive functions, moral decisions tests (altruistic or egoistic), Fitts-like motor control task, five character traits, emotional intelligence, mood, sleepiness and perceived stress, total physical activity of subjects (independent variables). Methods.In total, 20 undergraduate students (mean age were 21.3, SD=1) met the criteria and agreed to participate in this study. Results. Our research has shown that different brain functional outcomes, that is speed-accuracy motor control, inhibition response control and cognitive performance, risky-taking behaviour and impulsivity control, management of emotion, personality consciousness and physical activity have a common correlation with the increase in prefrontal cortex activity (measured by fNIRS) during Stroop test. Conclusion. Our studies have clearly shown that different brain functional outcomes, that is speed-accuracy motor control, inhibition response control and cognitive performance, risky-taking behaviour and impulsivity control, management of emotion, personality consciousness and physical activity have a common correlation with the increase in prefrontal cortex activity (measured by fNIRS) during Stroop test. Considerable number of studies are needed to understand what is the functional essence of these relationships, but currently there is an increase of research establishing correlations between motor behaviour and cognition control