An inter-community dialogue on rice as a site of knowledge and meaning

The two-day workshop in Kokrajhar (5-6 January 2019), organised by Ambedkar University Delhi in collaboration with IIAS and INTACH (Delhi), initiated a dialogue between (four) different communities on the tradition and experience of growing rice. This workshop was planned in the context of the IIAS initiative Humanities across Borders (HaB) that aims to share human experiences, with an objective to document and record the changing aspects of contemporary societies, and to use them as pedagogical tools.

Humanities across Borders Workshop
Kokrajhar, Assam, India
5-6 January 2019

The Newsletter 83, Summer 2019

https://www.iias.asia/the-newsletter/article/inter-community-dialogue-rice-site-knowledge-and-meaning

Bwisagu

Bwisagu is the New Year festival of the Boro community in Assam (India). It is the most awaited time of the year, which annually begins on 14^th April and lasts for at least a week. It is also celebrated as Baisakh in Punjab and as Bihu by the larger Assamese society that involve lot of merry making by all age groups. But what makes the Bwisagu of Boro community unique is the way it is celebrated.

Rice Cultures: 5-6 January 2019, Kokrajhar

A two-day workshop, Rice Cultures, was organized at the Science College, Kokrajhar (Assam, India) by Ambedkar University Delhi in collaboration with Humanities across Borders (IIAS, Leiden), and INTACH (Delhi) on 5-6 January 2019. The objective of the workshop was to generate and foster an intercommunity dialogue on rice cultures vis-à-vis four communities of India – Boro, Rabha, Rajbongshi and Santhal.

After the Harvest: The Koh Toh To Ceremony of the Karen in Huay Hin Lad Nai, Thailand

This report from the fields of Huay Hin Lad Nai comes from the research team at the Centre for Ethnic Studies and Development, Chiang Mai University, Thailand, as part of the project Living in and with the Forest in Northern Thailand. Members of the Karen youth community discuss the Koh Toh To ceremony, which signals the end of the harvest season among the Karen of Huay Hin Lad Nai.

Towards a 'Rice-scapes' Syllabus: Notes on the Asian Rice-Scapes Panel at the Borderland Spaces Conference, Bishkek

At the 6th Conference of the Asian Borderlands Network, held in Bishkek between 13-15 August, members of HaB held a double panel entitled Asian Rice-Scapes: Topographies, Tastes and Technologies.

Living in and with the Forest in Northern Thailand

In February 2018, 17 members of the youth group of Huay Hin Lad Nai, aged between 14 and 27, started to conduct in-depth interviews with community elders on different topics in, such asthe historical background of the community, family and kinship structures, the villagers’ local knowledge on forest classification and natural resource use as well as their traditional agricultural practices, particularly shifting cultivation.

Rice-scapes across Borders: On the Asian Rice-scapes Panel at the 6th Asian Borderlands Networks Conference

The 6^thconference of the Asian Borderlands Network was held at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, between August 13–15. The central theme, “Ruins, Revival(s) and Resources,” inspired the panel convenors to propose a broad array of topics covering the different corners of Asia.