The Wancho of northeast India in the 1970s and 1980s: Individuals and structures in a study of change
Borooah, Romy
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Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/23145
Description
Title
The Wancho of northeast India in the 1970s and 1980s: Individuals and structures in a study of change
Author(s)
Borooah, Romy
Issue Date
1989
Department of Study
Anthropology
Discipline
Anthropology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Anthropology, Cultural
Language
eng
Abstract
This study of contemporary Wancho society in highland northeast India, while being grounded in the constructs of historial materialism, seeks to develop an analytical framework which gives centrality to process in social structure and which accommodates a view of individuals as active agents in societal transformation.
"It examines in detail the material basis of existence, including social and political structure; the system of production; concepts of property and ownership; and notions of citizenship. Having outlined what might be called the Wancho ""mode of production,"" the study draws upon theoretical models for structural change in highland Southeast Asia and empirical data on the ""tribes"" of highland northeast India to illustrate that Wancho society may be placed within a ""social formation"" which encompasses the diversity of modes of production to be found in Arunachal Pradesh."
"In conclusion, two inter-related arguments are made. First, that in the analysis of a real economy (""concrete social formation"") the reproduction of the relations of production must be viewed as a continuing struggle, occurring over historical time, within a complex of political, economic, and ideological conditions, and not with reference primarily to a ""dominant practice,"" whether ideological, political, or economic. Second, that the political, economic, and ideological conditions are a product of both internal and external elements. The study focuses on the relationship of the local community to larger, regional political and economic structures, and argues that ""mode of production"" and ""social formation"" described as closed totalities are of limited utility in making sense of these highland structures, their reproduction and transformation."
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