Brief History Of European Ethnography PDF

A BRIEF HISTORY OF EUROPEAN ETHNOGRAPHY - Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. The total number of nati...

A BRIEF HISTORY OF EUROPEAN ETHNOGRAPHY - Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. The total number of national minority populations in Europe is estimated at 105 million people, or 14% of 770 million Europeans. - The earliest accounts of European ethnography date from Classical Antiquity. Herodotus described the Scythians and Thraco Illyrians. Dicaearchus gave a description of Greece itself, besides accounts of western and northern Europe. - Roman Empire period authors include Diodorus Siculus, Strabo and Tacitus. Julius Caesar gives an account of the Celtic tribes of Gaul, while Tacitus describes the Germanic tribes of Magna Germania. A number of authors like Diodorus Siculus, Pausanias and Sallust depict the ancient Sardinian and Corsican peoples. - The 4th century Tabula Peutingeriana records the names of numerous peoples and tribes. Ethnographers of Late Antiquity such as Agathias of Myrina Ammianus Marcellinus, Jordanes and Theophylact Simocatta give early accounts of the Slavs, the Franks, the Alamanni and the Goths. - Ahmad ibn Fadlan in the 10th century gives an account of the Bolghar and the Rus' peoples.William Rubruck, while most notable for his account of the Mongols, in his account of his journey to Asia also gives accounts of the Tatars and the Alans. - In the 19th century, ethnicity was discussed in terms of scientific racism, and the ethnic groups of Europe were grouped into a number of "races", Mediterranean, Alpine and Nordic, all part of a larger "Caucasian" group. INDIGENOUS MINORITIES - The member states of the Council of Europe in 1995 signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The broad aims of the convention are to ensure that the signatory states respect the rights of national minorities, undertaking to combat discrimination, promote equality, preserve and develop the culture and identity of national minorities, guarantee certain freedoms in relation to access to the media, minority languages and education and encourage the participation of national minorities in public. - Definitions of what constitutes indigenous minority groups in Europe can vary widely. One criterion is the so-called "time element", or how long the original inhabitants of a land occupied it before the arrival of later settlers. As there is no fixed time frame, the answer to the question of what groups constitute indigenous minorities is often context-dependent. - Some groups that claim indigenous minority status in Europe include the Uralic Nenets, Samoyed, and Komi peoples of northern Russia; Circassians of southern Russia and the North Caucasus;Crimean Tatars, Krymchaks and Crimean Karaites of Crimea (Ukraine); Sámi peoples of Northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland and northwestern Russia (in an area also referred to as Sápmi); Galicians of Galicia, Spain; Catalans of Catalonia, Spain  and Southern France; Basques of Basque Country, Spain and southern France; and the Sorbian people of Germany and Poland. CHALLENGES FACING EUROPE'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES CLIMATE CHANGE - ▪Indigenous peoples in Europe, whose cultures and livelihoods depend so much on their natural environment, are on the frontlines of climate change. - ▪Scientists estimate that the Arctic is warming up at a rate twice the global average. - ▪As sea ice melts, the hunting, fishing and herding activities that provide the basis of indigenous communities' livelihoods are at risk. - ▪Indigenous peoples across the world are disproportionally impacted by climate change even though they contribute least to greenhouse emissions, according to the UN. ENDANGERED LANGUAGES - ▪The survival of their ancestral languages is also among the key concerns of indigenous peoples across the world and Europe is no exception. - ▪The United Nations has declared 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages, noting that 40% of the estimated 6,700 languages spoken around the world were in danger of disappearing and that a majority were indigenous. - ▪"Languages play a crucial role in the daily life of indigenous peoples," Not only as a tool for communication, education, social integration but also as a source for each person's unique identity, cultural history, traditions." - ▪"But despite that, indigenous languages continue to disappear at an alarming rate and that's also true for the Saami languages.” LAND AND RESOURCES - ▪Resource and extraction industries on their traditional landsare another vital challenge for indigenous peoples. - ▪"What we see is that economic development often conflicts with already established traditional Saami business sectors. Mining, oil and gas all have a short living span, but traditional Saami food industries for instance, such as reindeer herding or fishing, focus on sustainable use of resources," - ▪"From an EU perspective, I find it contradictory that there is more awareness about how EU investment should be carried out on indigenous land outside the EU, but less focus on how investments inside the EU affect Saami cultures and way of life," THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH AMERICA ETHNIC ORIGINS AND MIGRATIONS - Four main components have contributed to the present-day population of South America-American Indians (Amerindians), who were the pre-Columbian inhabitants; Iberians (Spanish and Portuguese who conquered and dominated the continent until the  beginning of the 19th century); Africans, imported as slaves by the colonizers; and, finally, post independence immigrants from overseas, mostly Italy and Germany but also Lebanon, South Asia, and Japan. INDIANS - Before the beginning of the epoch of European exploration and conquest in the early 16th century, South America was almost completely occupied by diverse peoples. Nearly all of those cultural groups practiced agriculture, and most exhibited an extraordinary understanding of their physical environment that had been developed over thousands of years. Although areas such as deserts, mountain peaks, and tropical rainforest appeared to be uninhabited, most of those places were occupied at least occasionally. The societies with the greatest complexity of social organization and densest population tended to be located along the Pacific Ocean coast, in the adjacent Andes Mountains, and along the major rivers of the Amazon River basin. Less complex societies were located away from the rivers and mountains, and nomadic hunting tribes were sparse in the Pampas, Patagonia, and Southern Chile. - Agriculture-based village culture and social organization came first to the tropical lowlands of the Amazon basin and valleys of coastal Ecuador and Colombia (c. 3000 BCE). That culture included religious temple-mound complexes, fine ceramics (based partly on earlier technology for making fire-engraved containers out of bottle gourds) and farming such crops as cassava (manioc) and corn (maize) on periodically flooded plains and levees. Those areas eventually became organized into complex chiefdoms containing dense populations, supported in some cases by raised fields-broad planting surfaces separated by ditches that enhanced the fertility of the soil while limiting the possibility of fungal diseases and waterlogging. NAZCA WATER JAR - Nazca painted-clay doublespouted water jar, 1st–2nd century CE. - Courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History, New York. AYAHUASCA; SHAMAN - A shaman performing an ayahuasca rite in the Amazon region of Ecuador. TEXTILES IN A MARKET - Textiles in a market, Tarabuco, Bolivia. - In the highlands, fertile soils of volcanic ash were cultivated with the digging stick and a type of foot plow called the chaquitaclla. Highland soils also were improved by constructing long earthen irrigation canals or (in the Central Andes) some of the world’s most elaborate and beautiful stonewalled terracing. In most parts of the Andes, areas of high population density were organized into chiefdoms—such as the Chibcha of Colombia and the mound (tola) builders of Ecuador—led by powerful, paramount lords. Early cities and empires first developed around  - Huari (Wari) in south-central Peru and Tiwanaku (Tiahuanaco) in western Bolivia, but the last and best-known empire was that of the Inca (Inka). - Machu Picchu: stepped terraces and dwellings Stepped agricultural terraces and dwellings at Machu Picchu, Peru. WOW! PHILIPPINES! WOW! PHILIPPINES IPRA 1997 - Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997 SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as “The Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997”. - SECTION 2. Declaration of State Policies. — The State shall recognize and promote all the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs)... - a) The State shall recognize and promote the rights of ICCs/IPs within the framework of national unity and development; - b) The State shall protect the rights of ICCs/IPs to their ancestral domains to ensure their economic, social and cultural well-being and shall recognize the applicability of customary laws governing property rights or relations in determining the ownership and extent of ancestral domain; - c) The State shall recognize, respect and protect the rights of ICCs/IPs to preserve and develop their cultures, traditions and institutions. It shall consider these rights in the formulation of national laws and policies; - d) The State shall guarantee that members of the ICCs/IPs regardless of sex, shall equally enjoy the full measure of human rights and freedoms without distinction or discrimination; - e) The State shall take measures, with the participation of the ICCs/IPs concerned, to protect their rights and guarantee respect for their cultural integrity, and to ensure that members of the ICCs/IPs benefit on an equal footing from the rights and opportunities which national laws and regulations grant to other members of the population; and - f) The State recognizes its obligations to respond to the strong expression of the ICCs/IPs for cultural integrity by assuring maximum ICC/IP participation in the direction of education, health, as well as other services of ICCs/IPs, in order to render such services more responsive to the needs and desires of these communities. - Towards these ends, the State shall institute and establish the necessary mechanisms to enforce and guarantee the realization of these rights, taking into consideration their customs, traditions, values, beliefs, interests and institutions, and to adopt and implement measures to protect their rights to their ancestral domains. IPS IN THE PHILIPPINES - A group of people or homogenous societies identified by self-ascription and ascription by others, who have continuously lived as organized community on communally bounded and defined territory, and who have, under claims of ownership since time immemorial, occupied, possessed customs, tradition and other distinctive cultural traits, or who have,  through resistance to political, social and cultural inroads of colonization, non-indigenous religions and culture, become historically differentiated from the majority of Filipinos. - The Philippines is a culturally diverse country with an estimated 14- 17 million Indigenous Peoples (IPs) belonging to 110 ethno-linguistic groups. They are mainly concentrated in Northern Luzon (Cordillera Administrative Region, 33%) and Mindanao (61%), with some groups in the Visayas area. The Philippine Constitution, in recognition of this diversity and under the framework of national unity and development, mandates state recognition, protection, promotion, and fulfillment of the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Further, Republic Act 8371, also known as the “Indigenous Peoples Rights Act” (1997, IPRA), recognized the right of IPs to manage their ancestral domains; it has become the cornerstone of current national policy on IPs. THE IGOROT, LUMAD AND MANGYAN - The indigenous groups in the mountains of northern Luzon are collectively known as Igorot, while the groups on the southern island of Mindanao are collectively called Lumad. There are smaller groups collectively known as Mangyan in the central islands, and even smaller and scattered groups in the central islands and Luzon, including several groups of hunter-gatherers in transition. - Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines have retained much of their traditional, pre-colonial culture, social institutions and living practices. In general, they live in geographically isolated areas with lack of access to basic social services and few opportunities for major economic activities, education or political participation. In contrast, commercially valuable natural resources such as minerals, forests and rivers are found mainly in their areas, which makes them continuously vulnerable to aggression against development and land grabbing. THE IGOROT - They are a group of wet-rice agriculturalists occupying the mountains in the area of northern Luzon, Philippines. Igorot are any of various ethnic groups in the mountains of this region, all of whom keep their traditional religion and way of life. Some live in the tropical forests of the foothills, but most live in rugged grassland and pine forest zones higher up. They numbered about 1.5 million in the early 21st century and the main identified groups are Bontoc, Ibaloi, Ifugao, Isneg, Kalinga and Kankanaey. - Agricultural terracing and farming are their principal means of livelihood. Their main cultivation is rice. They cultivate sweet potatoes too. They use to raise pigs and chickens, primarily for the numerous rituals and sacrifices. - The Igorot live in small hamlets scattered among the rice terraces. Traditional houses were composed by wooden floors, windowless walls and pyramidal thatch roofs. They are elevated from the ground by trunks. The inhabitants used removable staircases that were hoisted up at night to protect the family inside.. THE LUMAD - In 1986, fifteen of the more than eighteen ICC in Mindanao adopted the term lumad, a Bisayan word for “native” or “indigenous,” to distinguish themselves from the Christians and Muslims in Mindanao. Republic Act 6734, enacted during Corazon Aquino’s time, used the term to differentiate these ethnic communities from the Bangsamoro people. - Lumad are non-Muslim or non-Christian, although “the orientation of their cultural developments... appears to be toward the Muslim groups” (Jocano, 1998). The anthropologist Felipe Landa Jocano stresses that “in most cases, language is the only differentiating element in ethnic cultures, particularly among those which occupy adjacent and contiguous territory.” - The lumad who live within the southern highland ranges are swidden farmers, and practice little trade. Like many of its neighbors, Bagobo society is ruled by a class of warriors known as magani or bagani. The Bagobo’s elaborate dress and personal adornment are well known among anthropologists. The T’boli and Teduray are also known for their baskets, trinkets, bracelets, and earrings made of brass. The T’boli’s t’nalak are prized fabrics believed to be inspired by the dreams of the woman weavers. MANOBO TRIBE OF THE PHILIPPINES - The Mandaya, Agusan Manobo, and Ata share numerous cultural traits and social institutions such as in clothing and religious rituals. They practice slash-and-burn farming and trade with neighbors. Warriors, headed by the datu, are greatly valued and respected. - On the mountains and plateaus of Bukidnon live a number of ICC collectively known as Bukidnon (from a Bisayan word for “mountain people”) but who call themselves Higaonon, or “mountain dwellers.” The mountains and ravines had separated them from their neighbors, and may account for why many of their traditions and practices have been maintained. In recent years, however, the Higaonon are slowly being assimilated into the prevailing lowland culture. THE MANGYAN - Mangyan is the generic name for the eight indigenous groups found on the island of Mindoro, southwest of the island of Luzon, the Philippines, each with its own tribal name, language, and customs. The total population maybe around 280,000, but official statistics are difficult to determine under the conditions of remote areas, reclusive tribal groups and some having little if any outside world contact. - The ethnic groups of the island, from north to south, are Iraya, Alangan, Tadyawan, Tawbuid (called Batangan by lowlanders on the west of the island), Buhid, and Hanunoo. An additional group on the south coast is labeled Ratagnon. They appear to intermarry with lowlanders. The group is known on the east of Mindoro as Bangon may be a subgroup of Tawbuid, as they speak the ‘western’ dialect of that language. They also have a kind of poetry which is called the Ambahan. - Among the most remarkable aspects of their rich culture is the writing system known as “Mangyan Scripts” that remains in use by the Hanunuo and Buhid Mangyan in southeastern Mindoro. The Scripts are among the last surviving examples of a writing system that was once used in the Pre-Hispanic Philippines. - Mangyans lived in peaceful societies as compared to the head-hunting tribes of North Luzon and the brave defiant warrior tribes of the South. Social scientists theorized that some societies become peaceful because their system of norms and values reward peaceful behavior but disapprove of aggressive and impulsive behaviors. - Mangyan is mainly subsistence agriculturalists, planting a variety of sweet potato, upland (dry cultivation) rice, and taro. They also trap small animals and wild pigs. Many who live in close contact with lowland Filipinos sell cash crops such as bananas and ginger. THE AETA - The Aeta (Ayta /ˈaɪtə/ EYE-tə), Agta, or Dumagat, are collective terms for several Filipino indigenous peoples who live in various parts of the island of Luzon in the Philippines. They are considered to be part of the Negrito ethnic groups and share common physical characteristics of dark skin tones, short statures, curly to Afro-textured hair, and a higher frequency of naturally lighter hair colour (blondism) relative to the general population. They are thought to be among the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines, preceding the Austronesian migrations. - The Aetas live in the northern part of the Philippines on the island of Luzon. Historians and anthropologists debate precisely when and how they migrated here, the consensus being that they crossed from the island of Borneo between 20 and 30 thousand years ago, using a land bridge that was partially covered by water around 5,000 years ago — the remaining part of which is now the island of Palawan. Whatever the migration path was, they are without doubt among the first — if not the first — inhabitants of the Philippines. One area of that country where the Aetas had lived for thousands of years was Mount Pinatubo. An active volcano, it erupted in June of 1991. The eruption was one of the worst in history and was devastating to the nearby Aeta population. Around a quarter of a million people lost their homes — many of them Aetas. Although the Filipinos are still cleaning up the ash to this day, the Aetas have long since re-settled in urban areas of Luzon. It is doubtful they will ever return to their former homeland. - Traditionally, Aetas are hunting and gathering indigenous people. They’re actually among the most skilled when it comes to jungle survival – they are even able to make use of plants as herbal medicine and possess tools and weapons. While they’re nomadic, they are able to build temporary houses made of sticks. ISSUES CONCERNING THE PHILIPPINE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES - Despite the abundance of natural resources around them, the indigenous peoples (IPs) in the Philippines, like their global counterparts, are ranked among the poorest and most disadvantaged sector. They are deprived of rights and opportunities to develop capacities to cope with the fast-changing social, economic, and political environment. - Many of the 110 ethno-linguistic indigenous groups in the Philippines experience discrimination, degradation of resource bases, and armed conflict. IP communities, generally located in distinct ancestral territories, have high rates of unemployment, underemployment, and illiteracy. While their socio-economic, cultural, and spiritual lives  revolve around their ancestral domains, indigenous peoples see their ownership of land shrinking and disregarded. - Climate change is the greatest challenge facing humanity today. Its effects, however, are disproportionately distributed, in particular affecting vulnerable and socially marginalized population groups. Indigenous peoples are among the first to face the direct impacts of global warming on the ecosystems or landscapes they inhabit, owing also to their dependence upon, and close relationship with the environment and its resources. - Indigenous people across the globe have engaged in a constant struggle to take control of natural resources and land against intrusion by external developers, state interest and commercial pressures brought up by practices such as mining and agribusiness (Meilasari-Sugiana, 2018). Escalating attacks against Indigenous Peoples’ organisations and human rights defenders, Red-Tagging and the Criminalization of Indigenous Activists SIGNIFICANT ROLE AND PLACE OF THE IPS IN THE FILIPINO COMMUNITY - They hold vital ancestral knowledge and expertise on how to adapt, mitigate, and reduce climate and disaster risks. - Studies shows that forests and ecosystems that are better kept are found in Indigenous territories, which means that the Indigenous Peoples have been practicing sustainable practices for environmental management and development. Conserving unique biodiversity relies on the knowledge, innovations, and practices of indigenous and local communities who live in direct contact with nature. - Their history, culture, arts and way of living are proof of evidence that we have our own. - The significance of preservation of indigenous languages also mean the preservation of traditional knowledge on the climate, medicine, hydrology, business and astronomy. There are indigenous peoples in the Philippines who believe that the invocation of the right words or phrases can call rain or heal ailments. Language is the filament through which the blood of the culture flows. TRENDING IPS - MANILA, Philippines - BA Behavioral Science graduate Norman King has recently made history after becoming the first Aeta to graduate from the University of the Philippines Manila (UP Manila). During the university’s 108th Commencement Exercises held on Wednesday, June 21 at the Philippine International Convention Center, King received his diploma wearing a bahag or g-string, his tribe’s traditional attire.“Nung umakyat ako ng stage, I’m doing this not simply because for show-off. No it’s not. It’s a matter of representation ng mga Aeta,” King explained. Becoming the first Aeta to graduate from UP Manila wasn’t an easy feat for King. In fact, the scholar flunked Math five times. -“Maraming adjustments, di ko kinakahiya na madalas ako bumagsak noon sa Math,” King recounted. - On June 30, 2020, Joeffrey Mambucon, "Joeff" to his friends, finally achieved more than he thought he could at age 31. He graduated from medical school with two distinctions. Joeff received the Dean’s Special Award for Research and the Dean’s Special Award for advocacy, inclusiveness, and equity as First Tigwahanon-Manobo LaSallian MD. The new doctor hails from the Philippine's indigenous tribe called Lumad. On the same day, he posted on Facebook a message thanking his professors and mentors at the De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute in (DLSMHSI) Dasmarinas, Cavite. He honored his mother and late father in his message "To my mother, siblings, and to my late Datu Father who is already in heaven, this is for all of us."Mama and Papa, you know how much my heart beats for both of you always value the importance of education." Joeff did not forget to acknowledge the support of his tribe: "To my fellow tribesmen who make me feel like a celebrity every time I come home bringing me lots of food such as sweet potatoes, cassavas, native chicken, and exotic foods that I love, together, this milestone is our success.