"When the obvious brother is not there": political and cultural contexts of the orphan challenge in northern Uganda

It is estimated that two million of Uganda's children today are orphaned primarily due to AIDS. While recognising the immense impact of HIV/AIDS on the present orphan problem, this article calls for a broader historic and cultural contextualisation to reach an understanding of the vastness of the orphan challenge. The study on which the article is based was carried out among the Langi in Lira District, northern Uganda, with a prime focus on the situation of orphans within the extended family system. The data were collected through ethnographic fieldwork (8 months); in-depth interviews with community leaders (21), heads of households (45) and orphans (35); through focus group discussions (5) with adult men and women caring for orphans, community leaders and with orphans; and also through documentary review. A survey was conducted in 402 households. The findings reveal a transition over the past 30 years from a situation dominated by 'purposeful' voluntary exchange of non-orphaned children to one dominated by 'crisis fostering' of orphans. Sixty-three percent of the households caring for orphans were found to be no longer headed by resourceful paternal kin in a manner deemed culturally appropriate by the patrilineal Langi society, but rather by marginalised widows, grandmothers or other single women receiving little support from the paternal clan. This transition is partly linked to an abrupt discontinuation of the Langi 'widow inheritance' (laku) practice. It is argued that the consequential transformations in fostering practices in northern Uganda must be historically situated through a focus on the effects of armed conflicts and uprooting of the local pastoral and cotton-based economy, which have occurred since the late 1970s. These processes jointly produced dramatic economic marginalisation with highly disturbing consequences for orphans and their caretakers.     

When "health" is not enough: societal, individual and biomedical assessments of well-being among the Matsigenka of the Peruvian Amazon

Although biomedical indicators of health status show that physical health for the Matsigenka of the Peruvian Amazon has significantly improved over the past 20-30 years, the Matsigenka perceive their health and well-being to have severely declined during this period. This discrepancy between empirical measures and local perceptions of health and well-being points to the central tension inherent in measuring and defining "health." While biomedical parameters of health are generally linked to notions of the body free of illness, measurable by physiological means, the Matsigenka define physical health as only one component of what it means to be healthy and to experience well-being. For the Matsigenka, notions of health and well-being are linked fundamentally to ideals about happiness, productivity and goodness, in addition to biomedical health. The Matsigenka attribute the decrease in their well-being to newly instigated sorcery and stressors resulting from outside influences and morality institutionalized by cultural "outsiders", such as missionaries, school teachers, health personnel, oil company employees and government officials. This article explores the relationships between biomedical, societal and personal assessments of health and well-being among the Matsigenka as they seek to preserve their sense of wellness in spite of their rapidly changing social and economic environment. By using longitudinal qualitative and quantitative ethnographic and health data, this paper shows that, for the Matsigenka, increases in acculturation and permanent settlement result in an alarming decrease in their health and well-being.     

都市“三人行”不伦恋

事件回放Star Family:two daughters of paternity Kazuo明星家庭:二女共侍一夫据新闻报道,日本涉毒女星酒井法子在2009年8月8日被捕后,她与高相之间复杂的夫妻关系随之浮出水面——在年轻的时候,酒井法子一直憧憬着一份"完美的婚姻"。1998年,年逾30的酒井法子与相识不久的高相佑一奉子成婚。婚后的甜蜜没有维持多久,高相佑一