Making Better "Scents" in Anthropology: Aroma in Tuareg Sociocultural Systems and the Shaping of Ethnography

Rasmussen, Susan J.

doi:10.2307/3317964

Cited by 20 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The attribution of great cultural value to scent and perfume is widespread among Saharan nomads, e.g. the Tuareg [57]. After thirty years of exile, Sahrawi refugees continue to use traditional products for cosmetic and perfuming purposes.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As among the Tuareg [57], some plants burnt for aromatic purposes are also used in a spiritual context to remove the evil eye from affected persons and to treat ‘insanity’ by inhaling the fumes. The resin of Commiphora africana and of Ferula species are burnt for these purposes, at times together with pieces of pyrite, seeds of Peganum harmala , seeds of Coriandrum sativum , and pieces of the dried skin of Chameleon spp.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Healing war wounds and perfuming exile: the use of vegetal, animal, and mineral products for perfumes, cosmetics, and skin healing among Sahrawi refugees of Western Sahara

Volpato

Kourková

Zelený

2012

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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BackgroundOver the past decade, there has been growing interest within ethnobiology in the knowledge and practices of migrating people. Within this, scholars have given relatively less attention to displaced people and refugees: to the loss, maintenance, and adaptation of refugees’ ethnobiological knowledge, and to its significance for refugees’ wellbeing. This study focuses on cosmetics and remedies used to heal skin afflictions that are traditionally used by Sahrawi refugees displaced in South Western Algerian refugee camps.MethodsThe research methods included a structured survey carried out with 37 refugee households, semi-structured interviews with 77 refugees, 24 retrospective interviews with refugees and other knowledgeable informants, and a voucher specimen collection of the plants and products cited.ResultsWe recorded the use of 55 plant species, nine animal species, and six mineral products used within the three main use categories discussed in this paper: 1) Remedies for health issues that are typical of the desert environment where the Sahrawi once lived as nomads and now live as refugees (e.g. eye afflictions); 2) Remedies for wounds that are influenced by the Sahrawi’s recent history of guerrilla warfare; and 3) Cosmetics and products used for body care, decoration and perfuming (e.g. hair care, teeth cleansing, henna use) and for aromatizing the air inside of tents and which are widely used in everyday life and social practices.ConclusionsWe discuss the changes that have occurred in the patterns of use and procurement of these products with exile and sedentarization in refugee camps, and conclude that refugees are not simply passive recipients of national and international aid, but rather struggle to maintain and recover their traditional ethnobiological practices in exile. Finally, we suggest further research into the ethnobiological practices and knowledge of displaced populations.ResumenSanando las heridas de guerra y perfumando el exilio: el uso de productos vegetales, animales y minerales con fines de perfumería, cosmética y curativos de la piel entre los refugiados saharauis del Sáhara Occidental.AntecedentesDurante la última década ha habido un creciente interés en los estudios etnobiológicos de los conocimientos y prácticas de las personas que migran. Dentro de esta tendencia, los estudiosos han prestado relativamente menor atención a las personas desplazadas y a los refugiados: a la pérdida, el mantenimiento y la adaptación de sus conocimientos etnobiológicos, y su importancia para el bienestar de los refugiados. Este estudio se centra en los cosméticos y remedios para curar problemas de la piel tradicionalmente utilizados por los refugiados saharauis en los campamentos de desplazados al sudoeste de Argelia.MétodosLos métodos de investigación que se utilizaron son: una encuesta estructurada con 37 familias de refugiados, entrevistas semi-estructuradas con 77 refugiados, 24 entrevistas retrospectivas con refugiados e informantes conocedores, y una colección de muestra de las plantas y produc...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Healing war wounds and perfuming exile: the use of vegetal, animal, and mineral products for perfumes, cosmetics, and skin healing among Sahrawi refugees of Western Sahara

Volpato

Kourková

Zelený

2012

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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“…I consider sound as a “dimension of experience in and of itself” (Stoller 1984:567), an organizing presence that connects the material and nonmaterial (e.g., spiritual), and one that gives form to abstract concepts such as identity. Here, I am suggesting that sound is more than a cultural tool for mediating activity and the shaping of expression in a figured world or community of practice; rather, it is a bearer of cultural expression itself (Rasmussen 1999).…”

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confidence: 99%

Composing Sound Identity in Taiko Drumming

Powell

2012

Anthropology & Edu Quarterly

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Although sociocultural theories emphasize the mutually constitutive nature of persons, activity, and environment, little attention has been paid to environmental features organized across sensory dimensions. I examine sound as a dimension of learning and practice, an organizing presence that connects the sonic with the social. This ethnographic study of taiko drumming underscores an acoustemological sense of knowing that configures the practice and performance of taiko as an Asian American soundscape of (re)composed cultural identity. [music, Japanese American, Asian American, identity, race]

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“…Although smell remains marginalized as a topic of anthropological interest, some notable exceptions deserve mention. Ethnographers who have privileged the sense of smell in their studies include: Vishvajit Pandya (1993), who emphasizes the central role of fragrances and their effects in his analysis of Ongee ritual; Susan Rasmussen (1999), who foregrounds aroma in her reflections on ethnography of the Tuareg; and Julie Cruikshank (2005), who documents Tlingit and Athabaskan notions regarding the sentience of glaciers and their (i.e., the glaciers’) sensitivity to certain smells.…”

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confidence: 99%

Scents of Place: The Dysplacement of a First Nations Community in Canada

Jackson

2011

American Anthropologist

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Here I explore how the experience of place at a First Nations reserve in Ontario, located in the middle of Canada's "Chemical Valley," is disrupted by the extraordinary levels of pollution found there. In so doing, I give special attention to air pollution and residents' responses to associated odors - that is, to the sense of smell. Focusing on a unique feature of smell - that it operates primarily through indexicality - I draw on C. S. Peirce's semiotic framework to highlight ways in which perception of odors entails embodiment of the perceived substance, thus connecting self and surroundings in profound and transformative ways. Ultimately, I argue that the local smellscape, while having reinforced a sense of positive emplacement on the reserve in the past, is now, because of the constant presence of toxic fumes, instilling in residents a profound sense of alienation from the ancestral landscape - a condition I call "dysplacement."

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Making Better "Scents" in Anthropology: Aroma in Tuareg Sociocultural Systems and the Shaping of Ethnography

Cited by 20 publications

References 22 publications

Healing war wounds and perfuming exile: the use of vegetal, animal, and mineral products for perfumes, cosmetics, and skin healing among Sahrawi refugees of Western Sahara

Healing war wounds and perfuming exile: the use of vegetal, animal, and mineral products for perfumes, cosmetics, and skin healing among Sahrawi refugees of Western Sahara

Composing Sound Identity in Taiko Drumming

Scents of Place: The Dysplacement of a First Nations Community in Canada

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