This study is about cults in northwestern Tunisia. A cult is defined as a religious grouping which exhibits several distinctive characteristics: the number of participants is limited, exclusivism... Show moreThis study is about cults in northwestern Tunisia. A cult is defined as a religious grouping which exhibits several distinctive characteristics: the number of participants is limited, exclusivism is absent, the beliefs and practices are biased on one or several specific supernatural beings, and it is a religious subsystem. The study consists of two parts. The first describes and analyses a maraboutic cult whose ritual centre is situated in Balta. Balta and its cult are introduced in chapter 1. The second chapter is an application of the regional cult analysis to this cult in relation to formal Islam. The interrelationships of the cult with nationwide demographic, economic, and political developments in Tunisia during the past century are dealt with in chapter 3. The second part of the study focuses on a Sufi cult which belongs to the Islamic mystical order of the Rahmaniya and which is situated in the town of El Kef. Chapter 4 is an ethnographic introduction of the Rahmaniya cult and an examination of its position towards popular Islam and formal Islam. The most important nonreligious, contextual factors of the Rahmaniya cult are analysed in chapter 5. Finally, several theoretical implications for the analysis of regional cults are elaborated in the conclusion Show less
The Free University in Amsterdam has undertaken several research projects in the Sudan. One programme (1983-1986) was aimed at comparing spontaneous and organized settlement of refugees as roads... Show moreThe Free University in Amsterdam has undertaken several research projects in the Sudan. One programme (1983-1986) was aimed at comparing spontaneous and organized settlement of refugees as roads towards integration; the locations studied were in the region of Gedaref, in the southern part of the Eastern Region. A second programme (1986-1987), undertaken jointly by the Free University and the University of Khartoum's Development Studies and Research Centre, studied the impact of refugees on the host region; Kassala and the surrounding rural area were chosen for this study. The present publication is a collection of articles written by some of those involved in these research programmes. They summarize the principal results of the various researches. The first chapter, by Henk Tieleman, introduces some of the prominent issues in refugee studies and discusses possible theoretical approaches. This is followed by a chapter, by Tom Kuhlman, on the root cause of the largest refugee flow: the Eritrean conflict. Chapter 3, by Jan Bouke Wijbrandi, evaluates the economic integration of refugees under conditions of organized and spontaneous settlement, and chapter 4, by Walter Kok, discusses the burden of refugees as assessed in the Kassala region. The last article, by Moniek Boerenkamp and Arjan Schuthof, is a condensation of the research undertaken by two anthropologists among Eritrean refugees belonging to the Baria ethnic group in a village near Kassala. Show less
This study examines the economic management strategies adopted by the Government of Cameroon. Economic planning in Cameroon has been anchored to the principles of planned liberalism, self-reliant... Show moreThis study examines the economic management strategies adopted by the Government of Cameroon. Economic planning in Cameroon has been anchored to the principles of planned liberalism, self-reliant development, balanced development and social justice. These concepts are elaborated and it is shown that the revenues needed to ensure that these principles are effectively implemented is derived mainly from the trade in raw materials. Attention is paid to the evolution of the Cameroonian economy, foreign trade, the regulation of cash-crop trade, trade in crude oil, taxation on international trade, sectoral distribution of investment, the promotion of the primary sector, the National Fund for Rural Development, the National Investment Code, private sector development, the State as entrepreneur, and the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises. Show less
Comprehensive overview of publications on Ethiopia published between c. 1957 up to 1990. The 5433 entries are arranged according to the following broad subject areas: Bibliographies - History of... Show moreComprehensive overview of publications on Ethiopia published between c. 1957 up to 1990. The 5433 entries are arranged according to the following broad subject areas: Bibliographies - History of Ethiopianist studies - Studies on manuscripts, documents, archives and library resources - Travellers and foreigners - History - Cultural geography and demography - Politics and law before 1974 - Politics, law and revolutionary development after 1974 - Peasantry and the rural sector before 1974 - Peasantry and the rural sector after 1974 - The urban sector - Modernization, communications, industry and economic development - Social structure and social change - Drought and famine; refugees and resettlement - International relations - Ethnoregional conflicts - Education - Health and health care - Ethnomedicine, traditional healing, disease history - Folklore, magic, oral traditions - Music - Material culture, architecture, arts and crafts - Christian and hagiographical literature - Religion and missions - Ethnography and ethnology. An author index is included Show less
This report, which is based on field research carried out in 1988, examines the marketing arrangements for raw cotton, cotton lint and cotton seed in Kenya, as well as the relationships and... Show moreThis report, which is based on field research carried out in 1988, examines the marketing arrangements for raw cotton, cotton lint and cotton seed in Kenya, as well as the relationships and conflicts between the actors involved. The report starts with the history of cotton production and marketing in Kenya. Next, the different participants in the cotton marketing system are introduced, i.e. the cotton farmers, the cooperative and private buying and ginning agents, the CLSMB (Cotton Lint and Seed Marketing Board), the textile factories and the cottonseed crushing mills. Existing problems at each marketing stage are looked at, and possible solutions discussed. In the last section, the large-scale reorganization of the present marketing system, as proposed by the Kenyan Government and outlined by the 1988 Cotton Act, is discussed. The reorganization is designed to solve the current problems and to reverse the declining cotton production trend. Show less
This report on the role of local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the improvement of the socioeconomic position of women in Zambia is based on anthropological fieldwork carried out in 1988... Show moreThis report on the role of local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the improvement of the socioeconomic position of women in Zambia is based on anthropological fieldwork carried out in 1988 and 1989, and a consultancy mission undertaken on behalf of the Organization of Dutch volunteers abroad in May-June 1989. Chapter 1 reviews Zambia's socioeconomic situation, with special reference to the position of women. Chapter 2 focuses on different aspects of women in development issues in Zambia. In chapter 3, some notes are presented on the national machinery for women in development, including data on the United National Independence Party (UNIP) Women's League. Then follows a chapter on the role of local NGOs, and a chapter on research on women in development in Zambia in general. Chapter 6 introduces the theoretical and methodological context for the analysis of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) (chapter 7) and the NGO Coordinating Committee (NGO-CC), an umbrella organization of NGOs concerned with women's issues in Zambia. The author concludes that NGOs, such as the YWCA and the NGO-CC, have played and do play an important role in improving the socioeconomic position of women in Zambia. They also provide a channel to reach women at the grassroots level. However, their work is affected by many constraints, mostly due to a shortage of qualified staff and financial resources Show less
Seasonality research can offer an explanation for the persistent poverty in the rural areas of Third World countries. Besides, it offers a framework in which research questions originating from a... Show moreSeasonality research can offer an explanation for the persistent poverty in the rural areas of Third World countries. Besides, it offers a framework in which research questions originating from a variety of disciplines can be included. This book contains five lectures presented in December 1988 at a workshop on seasons, food supply and nutrition in Africa. D. Foeken offers an overview of aspects of seasonality in sub-Saharan Africa, which serves as a framework within which the other contributions fit. R. Niemeijer and W. Klaver present the seasonal fluctuations in the nutritional condition of young children and their mothers in Coast Province, Kenya, and relate these fluctuations to ecotype and household welfare level. J. van Raaij and W. Schultink discuss the usefulness of research on fluctuations in nutritional conditions by means of an analysis of the energy balance, using a survey held among rural women in Benin as illustration. A. den Hartog and I. Brouwer argue that, as long as food shortages are of a seasonal character, curative mechanisms will concern mainly food habits. When food shortage becomes more chronic, however, a variety of other adaptations may be necessary. Like seasonality, external interventions (such as fluctuations in government spending and the school calendar) have their rhythms; rhythms that may coincide or collide with the seasonal pattern. T. Dietz explores this aspect of seasonality, using data from surveys in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Togo/Benin and Morocco Show less
