Shifting Ethnographic Paradigms and Practices: Unleashing From Colonialism

This paper demonstrates realist ethnographic paradigms and practices of engaging an extended period of time to collect the information of distinctive socio-cultural structures or institutions of alien tribal or indigenous societies and describing their cultural ways of life patterns in positivistic manner detaching them from the research process. It argues that the interpretive or hermeneutic wave of ethnography deconstructs this Western hegemonic research tradition giving birth to the interpretation of socio-cultural world of the researched attaching meaning to what they say and do. It further argues that the emergence of critical reflexive ethnographic tradition is the dramatic shift that challenges the colonial ethnographic practices giving space to the self as reflexive research participant.  It helps to contest the colonial assumptions of structured and objective visualization of the world and authoritative representation of the other. The ethnographic tradition is further shifting towards promoting epistemic pluralism under postmodern ideologies employing multiple logics and genres to represent the self and the other. Auto/ethnography that embodies the postmodern notions facilitates the researchers to release from the cage of colonialism serving to adopt multiple ways of knowing indigenously being self-reflexive participants in the research process

Indigenous Ways of Knowing in Nepal: Exploring Indigenous Research Procedures in Shamanism

By presenting Shamanism as a form and tradition of indigenous knowledge, this paper aims to reduce the uncertainties attached to the concept in common approaches to indigenous research. Most indigenist researchers, who are working to blend western and non-western ways of knowing, have inadequately explored indigenous research procedures. In order to understand indigenous research procedures in the Nepali multi-cultural context, using interpretive, critical and postmodern research paradigms, the authors engaged with indigenous elders and traditional healers, and observed cultural events like shamanic performances. This paper reveals how achieving a profound understanding of indigenous knowledge traditions will be an integral part of how researchers approach indigenous communities in future studies

Indigenous Ways of Knowing in Nepal: Exploring Indigenous Research Procedures in Shamanism

By presenting Shamanism as a form and tradition of indigenous knowledge, this paper aims to reduce the uncertainties attached to the concept in common approaches to indigenous research. Most indigenist researchers, who are working to blend western and non-western ways of knowing, have inadequately explored indigenous research procedures. In order to understand indigenous research procedures in the Nepali multi-cultural context, using interpretive, critical and postmodern research paradigms, the authors engaged with indigenous elders and traditional healers, and observed cultural events like shamanic performances. This paper reveals how achieving a profound understanding of indigenous knowledge traditions will be an integral part of how researchers approach indigenous communities in future studies

Local Values in Governance: Legacy of Choho in Forest and School Management in a Tamang Community in Nepal

The political modernization in Nepal accelerated since 1951 when the country changed its course owing to a popular movement that was acclaimed as the beginning of democracy in the country. However, the governments continued cultural and political homogenization.  This has been so in the case of local governance practices as well. Modern governing structures/institutions are guided by the state formed policies and elite-based power structures despite the fact that different ethnic groups in Nepal have their own traditional self-governance systems. In this context, this article unfolds the inheritance of traditional practices of the Tamang community (one of the major ethnic groups of Nepal), in a village, in the district adjoining Kathmandu valley, within the modern structures of governance of forest and school management systems. The paper argues that there is a legacy of the traditional institution, the Choho, though the system of Choho itself has now largely disappeared. This paper, based on ethnographic fieldwork, presents the accounts of Choho and examples of how the particular norms, values, beliefs, and practices are still in practice challenging and denying the modern/state formed mechanisms of governing the forests and schools in the village. The paper further argues that given the modern governance system, the traditional souvenir exchange practice that was rooted in the notion of honour and respect has now shifted towards the practice of giving and receiving gifts based upon the principle of reciprocal benefits that could be described as a bribe

Learning to 'Be/Live' in Kathmandu City: Kirat Migrants' Transformation

This paper, based on auto/ethnographic inquiry, explores how particular urbanised Kirats (internal migrant ethnic community members in Kathmandu city from the East of Nepal) learn to live in Kathmandu city. The paper argues that the formal education in Nepal, guided by Western modern worldviews as hegemony, is promoting imported instrumental knowledge and skills, which are impractical and less relevant in the job market, particularly in the city context. The paper further argues that the work based learning support them to transform to become particular urban professionals. However, those Kirats are made forced-learners in urban structures for their adaptation in a new context. Such forced-learning is subjugating indigenous knowledge inherited to them from their ancestors and accumulated in their village life

Shifting Ethnographic Paradigms and Practices: Unleashing From Colonialism

This paper demonstrates realist ethnographic paradigms and practices of engaging an extended period of time to collect the information of distinctive socio-cultural structures or institutions of alien tribal or indigenous societies and describing their cultural ways of life patterns in positivistic manner detaching them from the research process. It argues that the interpretive or hermeneutic wave of ethnography deconstructs this Western hegemonic research tradition giving birth to the interpretation of socio-cultural world of the researched attaching meaning to what they say and do. It further argues that the emergence of critical reflexive ethnographic tradition is the dramatic shift that challenges the colonial ethnographic practices giving space to the self as reflexive research participant. It helps to contest the colonial assumptions of structured and objective visualization of the world and authoritative representation of the other. The ethnographic tradition is further shifting towards promoting epistemic pluralism under postmodern ideologies employing multiple logics and genres to represent the self and the other. Auto/ethnography that embodies the postmodern notions facilitates the researchers to release from the cage of colonialism serving to adopt multiple ways of knowing indigenously being self-reflexive participants in the research process

Development of Performance Index for Onion Seed Extractor

A mechanical onion seed extractor was evaluated to study the effects of operational variables on seed quality parameters, and a performance index was developed for using principal component analysis method that proved to be a tool to select best design and operational variables. The concave clearance marginally affected vigour index, and the average values were 30.27, 30.70 and 29.63 per cent. However, the average vigour index was 29.89, 28.97 and 31.74% at the cylinder speed of 3, 4 and 5 m/s, respectively. The best performance combination with performance index of 1.0 was obtained for spike tooth mechanism, with concave clearance of 4.5 mm and cylinder speed of 5 m/s. The performance indices were categorized as high (1-6), moderate (7-24) and low performance (25-27) for onion seed extractor. The best combination with highest value of performance index was obtained with spike tooth extraction mechanism (E1), 4.5 mm concave clearance (C3) and 5 m/s cylinder speed (S3)

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Not AvailableA mechanical onion seed extractor was evaluated to study the effects of operational variables on seed quality parameters, and a performance index was developed for using principal component analysis method that proved to be a tool to select best design and operational variables. The concave clearance marginally affected vigour index, and the average values were 30.27, 30.70 and 29.63 per cent. However, the average vigour index was 29.89, 28.97 and 31.74% at the cylinder speed of 3, 4 and 5 m/s, respectively. The best performance combination with performance index of 1.0 was obtained for spike tooth mechanism, with concave clearance of 4.5 mm and cylinder speed of 5 m/s. The performance indices were categorized as high (1-6), moderate (7-24) and low performance (25-27) for onion seed extractor. The best combination with highest value of performance index was obtained with spike tooth extraction mechanism (E1), 4.5 mm concave clearance (C3) and 5 m/s cylinder speed (S3).Not Availabl

Community Development for Bote in Chitwan National Park, Nepal: A Political Ecology of Development Logic of Erasure

The conflict between development and conservation concerns is a perennial topic in sustainable development, and especially significant for marginalized social groups. In Nepal, fortress conservation in protected areas (PA) gave way to a community-based development and natural resource management (CBNRM) narrative of inclusion and participation in so-called buffer zone (BZ) initiatives around national parks. Studies to date show mixed outcomes of the community-based model for marginalized communities, especially for traditional indigenous river and forest dwellers. Academic and government reports of successes and failures of community-based projects in Nepal assume progress is based on traditional indigenous livelihood practices being abandoned and participation in state modernization initiatives in parks and reserves. Thus, despite promises of participation, evidence to date shows a de facto continuation of fortress conservation thinking and erasure of customary knowledge and livelihoods. Based on an ethnographic inquiry informed by political ecology conducted in two villages of Bote IPs (in the buffer zone area) of the Nawalparasi District of Chitwan National Park (CNP), we describe how state interventions and regulations under the guise of community-based participation actively ignore the moral ecology of traditional riverine livelihoods while pursuing a modernization project. Echoing calls by other scholars and stakeholders, we argue that a new approach to conservation and development that respects the environmental ethics of traditional livelihoods is long overdue in Nepal