Tundmatu kodumaa: välistiibetlaste ettekujutused Tiibetist

Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsiooneSissejuhatusest ja kolmest artiklist koosnev väitekiri analüüsib välistiibetlaste ettekujutusi oma kodumaast kolmel erineval näitel: miss Tiibeti iludusvõistlus, riigioraakel ja poliitilised karikatuurid. Uurimus on interdistsiplinaarne, sidudes omavahel folkloristikat ja sotsiaalantropoloogiat. Folkloristikale tugineb traditsiooni ja kultuuri mõtestamine töös, sotsiaalantropoloogial põhineb etnilise ja rahvusliku identiteedi käsitus. Väitekirja algallikateks on intervjuud, veebis läbi viidud küsitlused ja välitööde andmed, mis pärinevad nii läänemaailmas kui ka Indias elavatelt tiibetlastelt. Miss Tiibeti iludusvõistlus, mis on aastate vältel toimunud Dharamsalas, Indias, annab tunnistust protsessist, mille sisuks on kujutluse loomine ühtse ajaloo, kultuuri ja identiteediga Tiibetist. Selle võistluse käigus kaovad piirkondlikud ja usulised erinevused ning noored naised esindavad ideaali ühtsest Tiibetist. Ometi pole kõik välistiibetlased sellise ideega nõus, mis põhjustab pingeid. Riigioraaklist ehk Nechungi oraaklist kirjutatud artikkel lahkabki selliseid kogukonnasiseseid konflikte. Kunagisest kohaliku tähtsusega oraaklist on nüüd saanud kõigi välistiibetlaste oraakel sõltumata nende usulisest ja piirkondlikust taustast. Niisamuti on dalai-laamast saanud Tiibeti identiteediloomes sedavõrd keskne kuju, et tiibetlased, kes ei nõustu tema poliitikaga, riskivad sellega, et nad võidakse kogukonnast välja heita. Seejuures on „traditsioonist“ ja „kultuurist“ saanud vahendid, mille abil tiibetlaste enamus surub alla vähemust, kes ei jaga veendumust, et tiibetlaste ühtsus on vajalik ülimaks eesmärgiks ehk Tiibeti vabastamiseks. Kolmas artikkel Tiibeti poliitilistest karikatuuridest käsitlebki põhjalikult neid sotsiaalseid pingeid, mida tiibetlaste seas valitsevad lahkarvamused põhjustavadThe three articles of the thesis analyze how diasporic Tibetans imagine their homeland, in three different contexts: the State Oracle, the Miss Tibet beauty pageant, and political cartoons. The thesis is interdisciplinary, intersecting with folklore and social anthropology. I depend on social anthropologists in dealing with the concepts of ethnic and national identity, and on folklorists regarding the concepts of tradition and culture. The primary sources are virtual and in-person interviews, online surveys, and fieldwork data. The topics of the articles may seem widely divergent, but in all of them I endeavor to show how diasporic Tibetans construct an imagined Tibet. Tibetans have settled in the West and in Asia, with the majority still living in India. In the diasporic community what is known as ‘Greater Tibet’ encompasses the entire Tibetan Plateau. There is a process of creating a homogenous Tibetan history, culture, and identity, visible in the Miss Tibet pageant. The Tibetan ethno-nationalism fostered by the dominant group in the Tibetan diaspora is highlighted in the pageant, where regional and religious differences between Tibetans vanish, with the young women representing the idea of a unified Tibet. Some Tibetans oppose that idea, and the article on the State Oracle shows this tension growing in the community. What was once a regional oracle has now become the oracle of all Tibetans in the diaspora, irrespective of their religious and regional background. Moreover, the Dalai Lama has become the central element in Tibetan identity construction, so much so that people who go against his policies risk being expelled from the community. I therefore discuss ‘culture’ and ‘tradition’ as means by which the dominant majority, believing that the unity of Tibetans will lead to the ultimate goal of a free Tibet, suppresses a minority that challenges that view. The ensuing social tension is discussed in detail in the article on Tibetan political cartoons.https://www.ester.ee/record=b552931

Nutritional status of school-age children (5-19 years) in South Asia: A scoping review.

Information on malnutrition for school-age children and adolescents (5-19 years) in South Asia is fragmented and inconsistent, which limits the prioritization of nutrition policies, programmes and research for this age group. This scoping review aimed to synthesize existing evidence on the burden of malnutrition for children and adolescents aged 5-19 years in South Asia, and on interventions to improve their nutritional status. Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Medline and Google Scholar were systematically searched for articles published between January 2016 and November 2022. Eligible studies reported the prevalence of undernutrition, overweight/obesity, micronutrient deficiencies and unhealthy dietary intakes, and interventions that aimed to address these in South Asia. In total, 296 articles met our inclusion criteria. Evidence revealed widespread, yet heterogeneous, prevalence of undernutrition among South Asian children and adolescents: thinness (1.9%-88.8%), wasting (3%-48%), underweight (9.5%-84.4%) and stunting (3.7%-71.7%). A triple burden of malnutrition was evident: the prevalence of overweight and obesity ranged from 0.2% to 73% and 0% to 38% (with rapidly rising trends), respectively, alongside persistent micronutrient deficiencies. Diets often failed to meet nutritional requirements and high levels of fast-food consumption were reported. Education, fortification, supplementation and school feeding programmes demonstrated beneficial effects on nutritional status. Comprehensive and regular monitoring of all forms of malnutrition among children and adolescents, across all countries in South Asia is required. Further, more large-scale intervention research is needed to ensure policy and programmes effectively target and address malnutrition among children and adolescents in South Asia