The untouchable bard as author of his royal patron : A social approach to oral Epic poetry in Western Nepal

The relationship between a bard and his patron in western Nepal links individuals situated at opposite extremes of the social hierarchy within the caste organization. At first sight their relationship is totally foreign to those in modern Western societies as described by Pierre Bourdieu. For Bourdieu, authoritative speech emanates from persons in a higher social position, which is bestowed to them by the tacit mandate of a group for which they serve as the mouthpiece.1 To summarize, verbal communication directly reflects and reproduces the sociopolitical order. In the Himalayan bard/patron relationship, on the other hand, we are confronted with a paradoxical situation wherein the superior delegates the authority to speak in public to an inferior. This reverse transmission of the authority to speak, as puzzling as it may appear, was not uncommon in Medieval Europe, for instance, between the king and his jester. Openly contrary to the established order, the relationships involved in these cases are necessarily ritualized and highly regulated. They therefore call for a contextual approach in order to examine them and the rules that condition them, and make them acceptable. Yet studies dealing with comparable, yet defunct practices often lack the information necessary to undertake a detailed contextual approach and easily reconcile their paradoxical or contradictory elements, such as the two opposite depictions of the ancient Greek bard, as a prestigious poet on the one hand, and as a poor wanderer on the other.Issue title: Authoritative Speech in the Himalayas. Marie Lecomte-Tilouine is senior researcher at Centre de Recherche en Ethnomusicologie and member of the Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Sociale, Centre de Recherche en Ethnomusicologie/ Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales/College de France, Paris, France. She has coordinated several collective research programs in Nepal and the Western Himalayas (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh). She is presently heading, in collaboration with Anne de Sales, a program on the modalities of "presentification" (or production of presence) of invisible powers in the Himalaya, funded by the French National Agency for Research (ANR). Her books include: Hindu Kingship, Ethnic Revival and Maoist Rebellion in Nepal (2009), Bards and Mediums: History, Culture and Politics in the Central himalayan Kingdoms (2009), Nature, Culture and Religion at the Crossroads of Asia (2010), and Revolution in Nepal: An Anthropological and Historical Approach to the People's War (2013)

Katia Buffetrille, Pèlerins, lamas et visionnaires. Sources orales et écrites sur les pèlerinages tibétains

Cet ouvrage est une anthologie de textes relatifs aux lieux de pèlerinages tibétains. Il se compose de deux parties : la première traite de plusieurs sites du Tibet occidental, oriental et méridional, et la seconde du Népal oriental. Ces divers lieux de pèlerinage ont en commun la présence d’une montagne et/ou d’un lac. Les textes, présentés en tibétain en regard de la traduction française, forment un corpus d’une grande richesse invitant le lecteur à partager les émotions religieuses et iden..

Martyrs and Living Martyrs of the People’s War in Nepal

In Nepal, the Maoists’ armed wing (PLA) developed as a collective of martyrs-to-be, whose example was disseminated as soon as they fell through tributes, poems and ceremonies. Its dynamic relied on self-sacrifice rather than any heroic prowess, and acquired a strong power of attraction in that it fundamentally asserts that anyone, whether illiterate, poor or of the lowest status, is of ‘priceless’ value, and can contribute to the project to change the order of things by putting their lives at stake. The People’s War also brought about a wave of ‘Living Martyrs’, who survived the war and who are now busy recording their past experiences. They combine all the ingredients in terms of pathos and achievement to become historical figures and models for the future, while fallen immortals have already lost their individualities and play a collective and anonymous role

Brigitte Steinmann, Les Enfants du Singe et de la Démone. Mémoires des Tamang, récits himalayens

S’il fallait qualifier d’un seul terme Les Enfants du Singe et de la Démone, je dirais qu’il s’agit d’un livre baroque, dans sa forme et peut-être même dans son fond. Foisonnant et fort volumineux, l’ouvrage étonne, séduit et enivre légèrement par sa composition, laquelle présente une abondance de détails, de considérations et de descriptions surimposés à une architecture en réalité très structurée. Le foisonnement de l’écriture est une démarche visiblement délibérée de l’auteur, qui tient à ..

Words of truth : Authority and agency in ritual and legal speeches in the Himalayas

This issue of Oral Tradition presents a collection of anthropological studies on the sources of authority for ritual and legal speech in the Himalayan region. Its goal is twofold: first, to shed new light on a region whose diversity of oral traditions has so far resisted comparative studies; and second, to reconsider two major theories of language communication that confront linguistics and sociology.Issue title: Authoritative Speech in the Himalayas. Marie Lecomte-Tilouine is senior researcher at Centre de Recherche en Ethnomusicologie and member of the Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Sociale, Centre de Recherche en Ethnomusicologie/ Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales/College de France, Paris, France. She has coordinated several collective research programs in Nepal and the Western Himalayas (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh). She is presently heading, in collaboration with Anne de Sales, a program on the modalities of "presentification" (or production of presence) of invisible powers in the Himalaya, funded by the French National Agency for Research (ANR). Her books include: Hindu Kingship, Ethnic Revival and Maoist Rebellion in Nepal (2009), Bards and Mediums: History, Culture and Politics in the Central himalayan Kingdoms (2009), Nature, Culture and Religion at the Crossroads of Asia (2010), and Revolution in Nepal: An Anthropological and Historical Approach to the People's War (2013). Anne de Sales is an anthropologist, who holds the position of Senior Researcher in the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). Her publications on Nepal include a monograph on an ethnic minority, the Kham-Magar, and numerous articles on shamanic practices and oral literature. Since 1999 her publications have also addressed a range of anthropological issues concerning the impact of the Maoist insurrection on rural Nepal

Philippe Sagant, la passion de l’ethnologie

Philippe Sagant est né le 8 mai 1936 et nous a quittés le 10 janvier 2015, après une très longue et cruelle maladie. Nous avons voulu ici retracer les jalons de sa carrière et de sa vie intellectuelle, avant de laisser la parole à quelques uns de ses collègues et étudiants. Après des études à l’EPHE, Philippe Sagant soutient en 1973 une thèse de doctorat intitulée « Le paysan limbu, sa maison et ses champs », à l’université de Paris VII, sous la direction de Lucien Bernot (EHESS). Affecté au ..

Corneille Jest: Ethnologist and photographer

International audienceCorneille Jest was born in Strasbourg, France, on February 12, 1930. After preliminary scientific studies, he decided to specialize in ethnology. He spent many years at the Musée de I' Homme in Paris. A disciple of André Leroi-Gourhan, he followed his method. Under his supervision, he studied at the Centre de la Formation a la Recherche Ethnologique (CFRE), where fieldwork, methodology, technology and material life were stressed. It should be noted that this training used to end with a week of fieldwork in France. Comeille Jest chose to work in the Aveyron on traditional handicraft techniques which were very alive at that time. This formed the subject of his these de troisième cycle "Le Haut Levezou. Techniques et économie d'une communauté rurale", 1960, Paris, La Sorbonne. He entered the CNRS in 1956 where he has spent all his career

Un araire dans la tête...

Quatre grands types d’araire sont en usage dans l’arc himalayen. Leur cartographie fait apparaître des ensembles dont les aires d’extension et les limites permettent de lier domination politique et modèle technique. Elle soulève également de nombreuses questions relatives à la transmission des formes techniques, et plus généralement, conduit à s’interroger sur les courants présumés de migration dans la zone étudiée. Les observations portent à penser que le type d’araire utilisé en chaque lieu s’explique davantage par la prégnance d’un modèle idéel que par l’effet de contraintes environnementales.Four main types of swing ploughs (ard) are used in the Himalayas. Their cartography reveals units whose extension and limits enable to link together political domination and technical model. This cartography also raises numerous questions about the transmission of technical forms. More generally, it leads to ponder about the presumed migration routes in the area under study. Close observation seems to indicate that the type of plough used in each place owes less to environmental constraints than to an ideational model.Cuatro tipos generales se de arados usan en el arco del Himalaya. Su cartografía hace hincapíé en ciertos conjuntos cuyas áreas de extensión y cuyos límites permiten asociar dominación política y modelo técnico. Además, esta cartografía suscita cuestiones respecto a la trasmisión de las formas técnicas y más globalmente, a los trayectos de migración en la zona estudiada. Las observaciones hacen pensar que el tipo de arado utilizado en cada lugar se explica mejor por la huella de un modelo ideal que por las consecuencias de la restricciones ambientales

Approches de l'araire en Himalaya

L'étude d'un outil comme l'araire est moins simple qu'il n'y paraît, surtout lorsqu'il s'agit d'en comprendre la variété à grande échelle. En effet, si dans un village ou une vallée, les diverses conceptions indigènes expliquant la préférence pour un modèle particulier peuvent être cohérentes, en revanche, dans une région peuplée par des groupes différents, non seulement aucun discours ne saurait à lui seul rendre compte de l'ensemble des phénomènes, mais encore, nulle logique technique n'est..

Nepal's War on Human Rights: A summit higher than Everest

Nepal has witnessed serious human rights violations including arbitrary arrests, detentions, "disappearances", extra judicial executions, abductions and torture carried out by both the Royal Nepalese Army and the Maoist rebels in the 10 years of the "peoples war". Women and children have borne the brunt of the conflict. Massive displacement has led to adverse social and psychological consequences. While the reasons for the conflict are mainly indigenous and rooted in the social and economic in-equities, remedies for health inequities must come not only from the health sector but also from broad social policies and adopting a participatory and conflict-sensitive approach to development. Meanwhile the international community needs to use its leverage to urge both sides to accept a human rights accord and honor international human rights and humanitarian laws, while investigating allegations of abuse and prosecute those responsible