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Caring for the Pan: The Collaborative, Multi-layered and Temporal Dynamics of Agricultural Knowledge among War-Khasi Farmers
[journal article]
Abstract War-Khasis, who live in Bangladesh, earn their subsistence from the production of pan (betel leaf), which is cultivated in the forest. By exploring the betel leaf cultivation practices of War-Khasi farmers, the types of knowledge they mobilise to grow betel leaf successfully, and how they acquire th... view more
War-Khasis, who live in Bangladesh, earn their subsistence from the production of pan (betel leaf), which is cultivated in the forest. By exploring the betel leaf cultivation practices of War-Khasi farmers, the types of knowledge they mobilise to grow betel leaf successfully, and how they acquire these forms of knowledge, this ethnographic study draws attention to the collaborative, multi-layered and temporal dynamics of agricultural knowledge. Betel cultivation, far from being an independent human enterprise, is a collaborative and relational effort involving multiple species. The War-Khasi word sumar, meaning to cultivate and to take care, exemplifies the relational aspects of farming through multispecies collaboration. Although pan can grow naturally in the forest, cultivating betel necessitates the mastering and mobilisation of complex agricultural knowledge, as well as physical dexterity. Throughout the life of a farmer, such knowledge forms are in constant flux. The intergenerational transmission of agricultural knowledge, the adjustment of knowledge to the seasons and changing circumstances, the revision of knowledge as life experiences accumulate, and the transformation of the self during the effort to become a good farmer reveal movements of knowledge with different temporalities.... view less
Keywords
Bangladesh; care; agriculture; ethnic group; farmer; knowledge transfer
Classification
Ethnology, Cultural Anthropology, Ethnosociology
Sociology of Knowledge
Free Keywords
Northeast Indian borderlands; War-Khasi; pan; betel leaf; betel cultivation; agricultural knowledge; knowledge transmission
Document language
English
Publication Year
2023
Page/Pages
p. 151-171
Journal
International Quarterly for Asian Studies (IQAS), 54 (2023) 2
Issue topic
Knowledge on the Move, Part I
ISSN
2566-6878
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0